


Yang Xiao Long: Chasing Rose

by Zeroan



Series: RWBY Superhero Universe [3]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-27
Updated: 2017-09-15
Packaged: 2018-12-07 20:26:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 40,609
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11631264
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zeroan/pseuds/Zeroan
Summary: Yang's road trip across Vale is interrupted by bad news: her superhero sister Ruby has gone missing. It is up to her - and her ever helpful uncle Qrow - to pick up the pieces of what happened and get her back home safely. But along the way, Yang will have to come to terms with her own powers and answer a lifelong question: "Who do you want to to be?"





	1. Vacation interrupted

Being able to look at the sky at night and see the stars was something that, until a few months ago, Ruby hadn't known she needed. Patch wasn't the most polluted of cities, but there was always a little dust keeping her from seeing how bright the night could be. Now… now she realized what she had been missing. It was nice. Very relaxing.

Perfect for before a hunt.

" _Agent Rose, I realize this might sound a little odd, considering you are… well, you_ ," Commander Goodwitch's voice buzzed through her earpiece. " _But could you move faster? We are running late._ "

"Hmm?" Ruby blinked, realizing that she had stopped walking somewhere along the way. "Sorry. I'm almost there."

" _Well_ , the Grimm _are already there, so that is little comfort. Really, Ruby, if you want to be taken seriously as an agent, you must learn to control your-_ "

Ruby sighed, tuning her supervisor out for a moment. She understood Glynda was only looking out for her, and she was grateful for that, but sometimes the commander worried too much over too little. It wasn't as if Ruby had ever screwed up a mission before!

…Well, there was that one time when she mistook a bulldozer for a Grimm and caused some hefty property damage. The owner had been very upset. Glynda even more.

That was beside the point, though. She was a superhero, with a codename and a cape and everything else. Ruby could look out for herself.

"Uh, I'm sorry, Miss Goodwitch – I think – _Grrr_ –" Ruby hissed, trying to imitate the sound of static to the best of her abilities. "We're breaking out! _Shhrrr_!"

" _Ruby_." It wasn't difficult to imagine the look on Glynda's face. " _Honestly. You are an agent of Beacon. You cannot seriously be trying to deceive me with such_ -"

"Oh, no! It's a tunnel suddenly! _Whoosh_! It's sucking me in! Aah!" Ruby yelled quietly. "Tell my family I love them!"

Ruby turned off the earpiece for good.

"Nailed it."

She walked onward, quickening her steps a bit. Annoying or not, Commander Goodwitch had a point. Ruby couldn't risk the Grimm straying from their point of emergence and hurting some poor clueless person. It wasn't that far from town, after all.

Before she reached the spot, Ruby stopped and did a quick look of her surroundings, making sure no one had followed her. Once she was satisfied, she turned and walked on to the edge of the empty construction site and kneed on the loose gravel.

There they were. A small pack of Beowolves. She could see five from where she was, but there could be others hidden behind the vehicles the construction crew had left there for the night.

Keeping silent, Ruby stood up, grabbed Crescent Rose from her belt, and unfolded it. Her lips parted in a little smile. She just couldn't help it. This was what she had been born-

Behind her, an unexpected noise. Gravel. Boots. A low buzzing of electricity.

Ruby spun around and swung her scythe.

* * *

**YANG XIAO LONG**

**CHASING ROSE**

* * *

Yang pulled over by the side of the road and hopped off her motorcycle. She took off her helmet and put it down on the seat, then patted it lovingly.

"Don't cry, Bumblebee," she whispered. "I'll be back soon."

She turned and jogged over to the safety rails by the cliffside, ignoring the looks the other sightseers and tourists were giving her. Who were them to judge the love a woman felt for her motorcycle? They just didn't understand.

The Azure Falls, one of Vale's most popular landmarks, and now that she was here to see it in person, Yang could understand why that was. Watching the multiple streams cascade down from the mountains, joining together halfway to the lake below, steam spreading through the air… It was simply amazing.

She took in the sight for a while more, then took out her cellphone and turned around, framing herself with the Falls behind her. She smiled and took the photo.

" _Hey_. Looking good!" Yang nodded appreciatively.

"Thanks!" A man chimed beside her, also posing for a photo.

"Uh, I was talking to… Nevermind," Yang flashed him a thumbs-up. "Keep working out!"

Alright, _maybe_ she was talking to herself too much. But could anyone blame her? It had been weeks since she had had a real conversation with anyone - phone calls with family didn't count. It was only natural she would turn to herself for company. Yang did consider herself a pretty good conversationalist.

She looked down at her phone, considering who to send the photo to. Dad, of course. He seemed to be enjoying traveling vicariously through her. Some of her friends from Signal. Oh, and Ruby.

"Hmm."

Ruby hadn't viewed the photos she had sent over the last couple days, and her messages inquiring about where she was and if she was doing alright had also been ignored. Maybe Ruby had grown tired of her constant worrying? They had made an agreement about Ruby keeping her informed at all times, what with the Grimm slaying she was doing under Beacon now. But maybe Yang had been a little too overbearing…

Yeah, that was probably it. Hopefully Yang would hear from her sooner rather than later.

She sent out the photo and turned off her phone, then went back to Bumblebee. "Heya, sweetie," she put on her helmet and hoped on. "Kept my promise. Let's hit the road."

* * *

After the Azure Falls, Yang's next stop would be a little rural town in southern Vale, which went by the name of… Townsburg. When Dad had told her about it, she had thought he was pulling her leg, but a quick internet search proved he wasn't lying. _Townsburg_.

According to him, Townsburg served the best traditional crepe in the world. He had a very particular taste for crepe, one of his many oddities, so Yang was willing to trust him on that, and she was very eager to eat something not on the menu of a roadside restaurant. Besides, she would pass by the town anyway, so she saw no reason not to make a quick stop there.

It was a two-hour drive from the Azure Falls, but with the traffic being so light, she figured she could make it in an hour and a half. She would have done so, but twenty minutes from there, _something_ put a hold on that plan.

A car pulled over beside her, matching her speed. Yang waved at it. She had discovered people were surprisingly friendly on the road. She had even exchanged some tips about places to go and things to do. Unfortunately, that wasn't one of those experiences, but she realized that all too late as the window at the passenger side of the car rolled down, revealing two guys close to her age, both wearing very telling grins on their faces.

"Hey, hot stuff!" The passenger yelled, leaning towards the outside of the car. "Where are you headed?"

She held back a groan. Maybe if she was short with them, they would move on? "Places."

"I'm just asking so we know where to meet up with you!" He widened his smile, no doubt trying to be charming. It had the opposite effect.

"Oh, okay," Yang rolled her eyes. Time to ramp it up. "I'm driving off the cliffside, then. Wanna bet who hits bottom first?"

"Hey, we're just having fun!" The driver joined in. "Why you gotta be this way?"

"Guys, I'll give you a tip for life," Yang raised a finger. "If you wanna try picking up girls on the road… don't. No one's that desperate," she winked. "Except you two, apparently."

It was a pleasure for her to watch as their playful attitude crumbled to bits, their faces scrunching up with anger.

"Well, maybe you shouldn't dress like you're desperate!"

"Yeah! By the way, nice airbags! Where did you have them installed?"

Yang grinded her teeth and turned her head completely to glare at them, preparing an appropriate response to shut them up for good. She opened her mouth-

And suddenly hit the concrete, losing her grip on Bumblebee. She rolled on the ground, hitting her head several times, until she came to a complete stop. Groaning, she got on her knees and looked up.

Bumblebee was a little ways ahead of her, having barely stopped before falling off the cliffside. It didn't _look_ broken, and there was no smoke coming out of it or anything, but still…

The car stopped and the two guys ran over to her. "Oh, crap! Is she-" They slid to a halt at the same time, staring at her with wide eyes.

"She's… uh…" The driver swallowed dry. "You're not hurt…?"

Yang got up, clenching her fists. She could feel power coursing through her body, enough to dish out some irreversible damage on the two idiots. She closed her eyes and counted to ten, though, keeping her cool.

"Yeah, I'm not hurt," she cracked her neck. "Obviously."

"How?" The driver shook his head in astonishment. "You crashed at, like, a hundred per hour…"

"I got lucky," she stepped close to him. "Think you can be that lucky too, jerk?"

"W-wait. We're very sorry!" His friend intervened. "We can, uh, put your bike on the trunk and drive you to the next town. N-no funny business."

"No, thank you," Yang scoffed. "I'm still not _that_ desperate."

She stared them down, not saying another word, until they turned tail and got back on their car. As soon as they were gone, Yang shouted and kicked the ground, knocking off a chunk of concrete from the road. She hissed, realizing that wasn't a very nice thing to do. Hopefully that hole wouldn't cause _another_ accident to someone else.

She walked over to Bumblebee and lifted it. She revved up the engine. As she had imagined, it didn't sound too good. It definitely wasn't safe to drive.

"Oh, my baby… You're the biggest victim here," she muttered sadly. "Come on. Let's get you to a doctor."

* * *

Thankfully, she managed to hitch a ride with a traveling family shortly after the accident. They drove her to Townsburg – the kids had a blast hearing that name – and dropped her off there, the parents even offering her some money for repairs. Yang tried to refuse, but they insisted so much she was forced to take it. She took that as proof that she was right about the traveling spirit, even if _some people_ didn't adhere to it. Yang was all about finding the bright side in everything.

After a little searching and asking around, Yang found the local mechanic. It was a home business, run from his garage. The man seemed busy working on a rundown car, but when he noticed her approaching with Bumblebee, he stepped away from his work to talk to her.

"Hello, miss," he said, looking at her motorcycle. "Looks like some damage happened there. You take a tumble?"

"Kind of," Yang replied. "I got out unscathed."

"I can see. You must have some wicked reflexes," he chuckled. "Anyways, my name's Earl. I take it you want me to take a closer look on your ride, fix up whatever's needed?"

"Yep, that's it," Yang said. "How long do you think it will take? I'm travelling around right now, so I would like to get back on the road as fast as possible."

"Hard to tell. Could be a day or two, a couple more depending on how bad the damage is," Earl scratched his chin thoughtfully. "'Course, if you want me to work fast, it's gonna be a bit pricier. You see, I already have a lot on my table. Adding to that, well…"

"Don't worry about it. I'm willing to pay whatever price, as long as it's fair."

"Okay, then. Let me take your contact information, then we can see about the rest."

They exchanged the necessary information, then Earl told her about a local inn she could stay in while she waited for the repairs to be done. Yang thanked him, then moved on.

* * *

It took almost no time at all for her father to answer the phone, which made her think that either the media was right about people being addicted to their phones, _or_ that he might be enjoying travelling vigorously through her a little too much.

" _Hey, if it's not one of my favorite daughters_!"

"Hi, Dad." Yang smiled. Her day had taken a sour turn, but just hearing his voice did wonders to restore her spirit.

" _Where are you calling from?_ " He asked. " _I thought you had just stopped at the Falls?_ "

"Yeah, I'm in… Townsburg, right now," Yang couldn't help but pause at that name. Really. _Townsburg_? "I kind of… crashed Bumblebee a little."

" _You did_ what?!" Yang winced at his sudden, if not predictable, rise in volume and distanced the phone from her ear. " _Are you hurt?_ "

"No, Dad, I'm fine. I wasn't going that fast," she said, coming up with a lie on the spot. "I was enjoying the scenery. Maybe for too long. I got distracted, and then, _bam_."

" _I told you to be careful_ ," Taiyang sighed. " _Well you should find a mechanic and get it fixed fast if you wanna get back on the road._ "

"Already done. It's gonna take three days. Aaand… two hundred and fifty Lien."

This time she was ready for his loud response. She waited a few seconds before putting the phone back on her ear.

" _-but I_ suppose _I can afford that. I mean, I don't actually_ need _that exclusive starfish-shaped clock. I already have two of them. Yeah, I would like a third, to put in the kitchen, but we all have to make sacrifices-_ "

"Dad, stop. You're not gonna pay for me," Yang declared. "This trip is all about me becoming a responsible, independent adult, so I'm gonna own up to my mistake and pay the price myself."

" _Uh, yeah, I'm proud you're handling this so maturely, but… I never realized the trip was about adulthood and all that stuff._ " Taiyang said dubiously.

"That's because I just made that up," Yang admitted. "Anyway. It's settled, I'm paying. You can indulge your weird obsession with starfish-shaped stuff."

" _I'm telling you, it's genius design!_ "

"Sure, Dad," Yang rolled her eyes. "Oh, have you heard from Ruby lately? I think she's fed up with me checking on her all the time, so now she's ignoring me."

Instead of a straight-forward answer, she only heard some movement and – if she wasn't imagining things – a whisper from another person. Yang frowned, wondering what her father was up to now.

"Dad, you still there?" She called after a while.

"Oh, yeah. Sorry, I was actually checking my messages," he finally replied. "And, yep, Ruby texted me a couple hours ago. She's still out there on her Beacon missions. Seems like your theory is correct."

"Hmm. That's a relief." Yang paused. She was still suspicious, but she figured pushing him wouldn't amount to anything. He had kept his previous life as a Beacon agent a secret for eighteen years, after all. "Well, I'm just gonna wait for Bumblebee to get fixed and then I'll get back on the road. Should be home in a month or so!"

"Can't wait for it! Have fun, sweetheart."

"I will. Bye, Dad."

Yang ended the call and laid down on her rented bed, staring at the ceiling.

She had to be overthinking things. If something had happened to Ruby, her father wouldn't hide it from her. Unless… He knew very well how protective she was of her sister. He might have thought sharing the news with her would cause her to cross half the country just to find Ruby – which, she had to admit, was a spot-on assumption.

Grumbling under her breath, Yang picked her phone up again and quickly sent a text to Ruby.

_Heya. Sorry for the mama bear routine. Call me?_

She sighed.

Aren't vacations supposed to be relaxing?

* * *

Over the next days, Yang tried to keep her mind off Ruby and her father's weirdness, by exploring Townsburg and its immediate surroundings. It was a small town, but she found that there were actually some pretty interesting spots to find if one searched hard enough.

There was, of course, the crepe place she had been told about, and the food turned out to live up to her father's word. But what interested her more was the forest to the west of town. It was filled with trees bigger than any she had ever seen before, and there was wildlife everywhere she looked. It reminded her of home.

When the forest ended, Yang was met with a steep wall of rock that led up to a range of mountains, their peaks so high they appeared to touch the sky. She wondered if people climbed here often… and then she decided that, if they didn't, she would be the first one to.

Make your own fun wherever you are, was her motto.

She started slowly, taking careful hold of rocks that protruded from the wall and pulling herself up from there. Yang had never gone rock climbing before, but she figured it couldn't be too hard. She imagined the trickiest part was having the strength and stamina to make your way to the top, but that was not a problem for her at all.

In a matter of minutes, she was already halfway to the top. She stopped for a moment to take a breath and plot out her the rest of the climb. Unfortunately, she made the mistake of looking down. She had gone so far she was now level with the top of the trees!

"Oookay," Yang said, pressing herself to the wall. "Don't worry. You're practically invulnerable. Practically. And it's not like the climb's getting any harder from here."

She nodded and reached for the next rock to hold on to. She started to pull herself upward, only to realize too late that she had made a fatal mistake – she had put too much strength in her grip, and the rock was giving way and breaking off the wall. Yang let go and searched frantically for another holding point, and then her feet gave way too.

Yang plummeted down, screaming so much she would have died from embarrassment, were it not for the more pressing situation she was in. She watched the top of the mountain grow farther and farther, until she hit the ground.

It hurt.

Yang raised her head to look at the mountains. It was almost as if they were taunting her, challenging her to try and fail again. Huffing, she jumped to her feet and ran to the wall, violet eyes turned red.

She leaped, made impact with the wall, and buried her fingers into the rock. Grunting angrily, she let her body go limp, then pulled with all her might, letting go of the rock. She went flying upward five times the distance she had been making before, only to grab onto the wall again.

Yang repeated the motion again and again, not caring at all as parts of the wall started to give around and below her. All she could see was the top, and she wouldn't stop until she got there.

Finally, she gave one last impulse and soared by the edge of the mountain. Yang landed loudly, the ground shattering beneath her feet. Not wasting a moment, she screamed at the top of her lungs and kicked a rock off the mountain.

A couple minutes passed before her eyes returned to violet.

"Well, that was a thing."

She sat down and breathed in and out, waiting for the adrenaline to settle down. It had been a long time since she had used her Semblance to such an extent. It was for the best, of course, she didn't want everyone knowing she was some kind of superhuman, but she couldn't lie and say it wasn't the best feeling the world for her.

As good as it felt, though, these moments were always followed by self-doubt of confusion. That might be the bigger reason for her secrecy. If she was invulnerable and could lift fifty times her weight without breaking a sweat, what did that make of her future? She had been able to ignore that for her entire life, but now she was an adult. She had to make a choice.

"This is _not_ what I am on vacation for." She said bitterly, casting those thoughts aside. Leave the worrying for when she was back home.

Yang stood up and looked at the mountains. She couldn't be sure, but it looked like the smallest one would take ten times the time to climb than the first. She knew it was unlikely she would get hurt, but…

"Eh. It's probably too cold up there anyway," she said. "Yep. That's why I'm not going. I am _not_ scared."

She looked around suspiciously.

"I really have to stop talking to myself."

* * *

At last the third day came about, and with it news that her motorcycle was ready to go. Yang ate a quick breakfast at the inn, paid for her stay, then went out, eager to get her vacation back on track.

When she got to the mechanic's house, she was surprised to find Bumblebee parked on the sidewalk, instead of being inside his garage. Yang looked around confusedly. She still had to pay for the repairs, but Earl was nowhere to be seen.

She started to make her way to the garage, but before she got there, Earl stepped out, wiping some grease off his forehead. "Hey, kid! You showed up fast, huh?"

"Like I said, I really wanna hit the road again," Yang said, taking out her wallet. "So, two hundred and fifty lien?"

"Yes?" He frowned. "It's already paid for. I thought you knew?"

"Paid for?" Yang repeated. "By whom?"

"Who do you _think_ , pipsqueak?"

Yang turned to look over her shoulder, her eyes widening. There he was, leaning on Bumblebee as if his presence was the most expected thing in the world. His little smile and red eyes made her both happy and exasperated, as always.

"Uncle Qrow?" She said, walking over to him. "What are you doing here?"

"Checking up on my favorite blonde," he shrugged. "And bailing her out of a pricey debt because she doesn't know how to drive straight."

"It was a very stressful situation!" Yang punched him in the shoulder, but he only smiled bigger. "How did you even know I was here?"

"I was with your father when you called him," Qrow explained. "I was delivering bad news, as is customary."

Yang felt her stomach drop. Bad news, of course. She could already imagine what they were about.

"Your sister has been missing for a week," he said. "The last Beacon heard from her, she was taking care of a Grimm surge at some small town up north. Communications were cut, and there was no sign of where she'd gone."

"Oh. That, uh…" Yang tried to speak, but her voice was failing her. "That sucks."

"Yes, that does suck indeed," Qrow agreed. "We're fairly sure she's alive. We only need to find her, and since the regular Beacon agents have failed to do that, the job falls to me now," he looked away, grimacing. "It should have been that way from the start."

Yang looked at Bumblebee. She couldn't stomach the thought of continuing her traveling now that she knew Ruby was missing. The only thing she wanted to do now was _find her_.

Her father had been right to keep the truth from her.

She looked up at her uncle again. "Why are you telling me this?"

"Isn't it obvious?" He raised an eyebrow. "You're coming along on the job."

"I am?"

He just stared at her. She met his gaze in silence for a while... and then her eyes went red.

"I am."


	2. Follow the breadcrumbs

"Come on, pipsqueak," Qrow said. "It's just up ahead."

Yang sighed, dragging Bumblebee along while trying to keep up with her uncle. He seemed more than happy with not telling her where they were going.

"You know I'm not a kid anymore, right?" She asked. "That nickname wore off a long time ago."

He looked back at her blankly. "What did you say, pipsqueak?"

Yang just groaned. She should know better than to complain. It only encouraged him to tease her even more.

"Okay, here we are." Qrow said, stopping suddenly.

Yang pulled Bumblebee a little more forward, then looked around confusedly. All she could see were trees and bushes, no different than the ones they had been passing by for the last ten minutes.

"Great. _So_ ," she said, glaring at him. "We're gonna climb to the top of the trees and Tarzan our way to Ruby?"

"As fun as that sounds, no. I have a much better plan," Qrow took a remote from his pocket and made a little flourish. "Behold."

He pressed a button, and a few meters in front of them, the air seemed to shimmer. Little points of little flickered in and out of existence, making the outline of something big. Yang took her eyes off the phenomena for a couple seconds, and when she looked back, she found a small aircraft parked in the middle of the clearing.

She blinked a few times, making sure she wasn't seeing things. Beside her, Qrow snorted and walked forward.

"My personal Quinjet," he said. "I call it… The Crow!"

"You have your own airplane," Yang shook her head. "And you named it after yourself. Why am I not surprised?"

"Excuse me, _you_ named your motorcycle after a cartoon about robots in disguise!" Qrow exclaimed, sounding very offended.

"What?" Yang did a double take. "Robots in disguise?"

"You mean it's not a reference to…" Qrow paused. "Nevermind. Just get in."

He pressed another button, lowering a hangar at the back of the aircraft. He went inside, keeping up an air of indignance. Yang rolled her eyes and followed him.

Inside, she found herself in a room holding other vehicles, namely a car and two motorcycles. Her uncle was full of surprises today, it seemed. She parked Bumblebee next to the wall.

Qrow closed the hangar and signaled for her to follow him into the cockpit. There, they sat down, him taking the pilot's seat, obviously.

Yang looked around. She was having a really tough time believing where she was. "You have a… what did you call it again?"

"A Quinjet. It's a military-grade aircraft designed for quick transportation of small personnel and maximum security, including the cloaking device you just saw," Qrow frowned. "Or _didn't_ see. Hmm."

"But how come you have this? And how come you know about Ruby?" Yang asked.

"We'll get to that after we're off the ground," Qrow decided, flipping a few switches. "If we want to find your sister, we need to do it fast. Time is of the essence. Like I already told you, her last known whereabouts is a small northern town. We'll start our investigation from there."

Yang nodded. She had a lot of questions, but none quite as important as where Ruby was, and if she was safe. Silent, she watched the ground grow further away as the aircraft took off. In the next minute, they were soaring through the sky, reaching above the clouds.

She could only hope they were going fast enough.

* * *

"So, are you going to speak to me now?"

Qrow sighed. He had enjoyed the quiet while it had lasted, but eventually even Yang's worry for her sister wasn't enough to keep her questions at bay. He supposed it was only fair – he had roped her along with almost no explanation, after all.

"Fine," he said, putting the Quinjet on auto-pilot. "Ask away, Yang."

"Okay!" Yang shifted in her seat, leaning towards him like a snake eyeing an unguarded bird's nest. "What's up with you and this plane? And Ruby? Do you work for Beacon?"

"Kinda."

Qrow reached under the control panel and retrieved a flask of whiskey. He shook it next to his ear, then smiled and took a swig. Once he was done, he offered it to Yang. She twisted her nose and waved it off.

"What do you mean kinda?" She asked.

"I don't work _for_ Beacon. They might tell you I do, but I never have, and I never will," Qrow explained. "We work _together_. I'm an independent agent. They provide me with valuable information they can't share with anyone else, and I do with that whatever I see fit," he shrugged. "Our interests align ninety-five percent of the time, so they have nothing to worry about from me."

"Dad never told us what your job was. Ruby and I just lumped you into the superspy theory we had going on," Yang said. "You know, that's becoming truer every day. There is only _one_ more person we need to confirm…"

She gave him a significant stare. Qrow took another swig of whiskey, looking at her impassively. Eventually, Yang looked away bitterly.

"Why did you come to me?" She asked. "I mean, I appreciate you telling me about Ruby, but you could have kept it a secret. Dad tried to," she threw her arms up. "You know what, I think he was right. I have no experience doing… whatever we're gonna be doing. I could screw up the whole investigation."

"Oh, I know that. What, you think I picked you up not knowing what to expect?" Qrow said. "I don't need an agent of Beacon, Yang. I need you. Maybe you should focus on that, instead of all the reasons you _shouldn't_ be here."

"But why would you…" Yang stopped, an idea suddenly popping inside her head. "Wait, are you talking about my powers?"

"Bingo." Qrow winked at her and took another swig.

Yang sunk in her seat, not knowing how to feel. "But you're the one who told me I shouldn't use my powers."

Qrow sighed, putting his flask aside. He turned in his seat to look at her, the levity in his face giving way to seriousness. If before he was answering her questions just to get her off his back, now he was really invested in the conversation.

"Yang. You were barely ten when you found out you were different. Summer was gone, and your dad was left alone to care for you and your sister," he said. "Superpowers were the last thing the family needed. So you can understand why I told you to keep it a secret," Qrow hung back a little, gesturing to her. "But you're a grown-up now. You can't ignore that part of yourself anymore. That would be like refusing to acknowledge the color of your skin, or not using your legs to walk. When you're different like you and your sister are, you don't get to pretend you're normal. That's just gonna get you hurt in the end."

Yang nodded quietly. When Ruby had come to her telling her she had superpowers and that she wanted – no, that she _needed_ to use them to help people, Yang had definitely been able to see where she came from. Ruby had always wanted to be a hero, and when the opportunity came up, that was it. From the moment her Semblance unlocked, there was no turning back. That was Ruby.

But it wasn't quite so easy for Yang. She wished she could be just as driven as Ruby, but that simply wasn't true. Yang didn't want to be a superhero. She didn't want to run around the world saving people's lives and beating up bad guys. Not that she wouldn't enjoy it, but that just wasn't her.

But, like Qrow said, she couldn't ignore what she was. But then what was she supposed to do with herself?

"Sorry to drop all that on you, kid."

Yang looked at her uncle again. He had picked his flask back up, but had yet to drink from it again.

"I wish I could make the future look all sunshine and rainbows for you, but I can't. I've known too many people like you to say that," he corked the flask and threw away unceremoniously. "Anyway! We should be getting there soon. Want anything to eat before we land?"

"No, thanks. I'm good." Yang replied quietly. Something about Qrow's demeanor seemed off. He had always been taciturn around her, but there was something else to him now, and she doubted it was just the drinking.

Yang turned her gaze away. This seemed like it would be a long mission. Whatever was up with her uncle, she was sure she would find out eventually. Whether she wanted to… well, that was another question altogether.

* * *

They landed on the outskirts of the town. There was little to be seen. The whole region seemed to be plains upon plains for kilometers in all directions, the only landmark being a mountain far, far away in the North. It would take days to get there on foot, Yang imagined.

"Are we going into town?" Yang asked as Qrow exited the Quinjet, closing the hangar behind him.

"Maybe later," he answered. "We're going to the construction site first, get our bearings from our Beacon contact there, and then we'll see where we go from there."

"Sounds fun!" She exclaimed. "Do I get a badge? You know, so I can get there and be like, _Yang Xiao Long, agent of Beacon! I have some questions to ask you!_ "

Qrow snorted. "Beacon doesn't have badges. And if they did, you wouldn't get one."

"Wow, so I don't even get a chance?" Yang crossed her arms. "Fine. I didn't wanna work with Beacon anyway."

Qrow gave her a light shove, getting her going away from the city. They walked north for a few minutes until they arrived at the construction site, which was by the side of the road. It was cut off by yellow tape, which Qrow promptly disrespected by ducking under. Yang shrugged and followed his example. If they got in trouble, she could just point at him.

The place looked deserted. Whatever the builders were working on seemed to have been postponed close to its inception. There were a couple piles of gravel outside the edge of site, next to the construction vehicles, currently inactive.

There was a woman standing in the middle of the site, checking off a list of items on a clipboard. When she noticed them coming, she clucked her tongue and rolled her eyes. Yang tilted her head. The woman looked familiar, but from where…?

"Glynda Goodwitch!" Qrow shouted, spreading his arms widely. "My favorite agent!"

"Branwen. It is good to see you too," the agent replied, her tone contradicting her words. She looked at Yang curiously. "Miss Xiao Long. What a surprise to see you here."

"Uh, hi," Yang waved awkwardly. "Do we know each other…?"

"We met briefly, at your house, in fact," Glynda explained. "I was investigating some strange energy phenomenon in your hometown, which turned out to be your sister's doing."

"Oh, right! Melinda the hot librarian!" Yang blinked. "Uh, I mean… Forget that last part."

Glynda stared at her for a moment, then shook her head. "That was a cover. One your father was delighted to poke fun at. But that is of no importance," she looked at Qrow. "I assume you've decided to recruit her in spite of her having zero training and experience?"

"Oh, no, that would be terrible!" Qrow gasped, turning to pat Yang in the head. "We're out for ice cream!"

Yang slapped his hand away. "Yeah, I'm with him for the mission," she stood up straighter, assuming a more serious expression. "So, what do you know about my sister's disappearance?"

Glynda turned her eyes back to her clipboard and checked off another item distractedly. After a while, she looked at the pair again, seemingly deciding she was okay with Yang being involved – or maybe she knew it wasn't worth to argue with either of them.

"Agent Rose has been on a Grimm-routing assignment for the last month. That means she was covering a lot of ground, going from surge to surge before the Grimm could wander off and cause havoc. It's routine Beacon work," Glynda sighed. "That was the problem. Agent Rose got lax. She started to dismiss my supervising her as, and I quote, 'really distracting and, sorry, kinda annoying even?'."

"Yeah, Ruby doesn't like being coddled." Yang said.

"I was not _coddling_ her, Miss Xiao Long," Glynda glared at her. Yang edged closer to her uncle, prepared to throw him at her and run for safety. "There is a reason every field agent gets a supervisor when it comes to combating Grimm. Anyone, from the most experienced of agents to the so-called _superheroes_ , can be caught off-guard. That _is_ the whole reason we are here, is it not?"

Yang didn't reply. She had been worried before, but now she was beginning to realize the true scope of the situation. Ruby could run faster than a sports car and survive a bullet to the head. She had practically saved Patch from being overrun by extradimensional monsters all by herself. And _somehow,_ she had gone missing.

"Alright, I think we all get the importance of listening to our supervisors and all that crap now," Qrow said. "Can you get to the point?"

Glynda breathed in exasperatedly. "Yes. I will _get to the point_ ," she turned and took a few steps, then pointed at the sky. "Seven days and four hours ago, a Grimm surge occurred in this exact spot. Agent Rose was on her way to terminating it when she cut off communications," Glynda turned again. "I did not hear from her again after that, but the energy signatures of the Grimm did vanish during the period it should have taken her to kill them. That points to her having finished the job. _But_ …"

She took out something from her pocket, a metallic object in the format of a cube. It was only once she pressed a button and it unfolded into a scythe that Yang recognized it. She handed it to Qrow, who spun it around once with a perplexed expression on his face.

"The workers arrived in the morning and found her weapon lying on the ground, as well as her phone," Glynda said. "Unfortunately, they touched both, so they have little merit as evidence of what might have happened then. Unless you think one of the workers snuck up on her."

"Seems as likely as her being taken out by a rat," Qrow folded the weapon and scratched his chin. "Where was she staying?"

"Like I said, Rose was moving constantly. It's been a hectic summer in northern Vale, and she's not the only agent working Grimm lately," Glynda said. "She stayed one night at a local inn, and she was supposed to stay another to rest. According to the owner, she never showed up there again."

"We're gonna question the owner too, if you don't mind, just to get our own approach, ya know?" Qrow leaned in to whisper in Yang's ear. "She totally minds."

"I don't mind," Glynda said steely. "Why would I mind? Nevermind my being sub-director of Beacon. I'm not infallible. Especially when it comes to interviewing roadside inn owners," her left eye twitched. " _Go ahead_."

"Just common courtesy," Qrow lifted his hands amicably. "So, to round it all up: Ruby cuts off communications, the Grimm are seemingly dealt with anyway, but her weapon and phone are left behind and she doesn't show up where she was supposed to later," he looked at Yang. "Seems like we've got our work cut out for us, eh?"

"Oh, yes. Surely you will solve it in no time, agent Branwen," Glynda rolled her eyes. "Nevermind that Beacon has been working the case for a week already. With you taking over, agent Rose will be found in no time."

"…Always good seeing you, Glynda!" Qrow turned and marched away. "Niece! Chop chop!"

Yang looked at Glynda apologetically, then made to follow him. But before she could get very far, Glynda caught up to her and grabbed her by the wrist.

"Miss Xiao Long. Despite the hostility I might have shown your uncle right now, I do hope you and him find Ruby soon. Your sister is an extraordinary young woman," she smiled. "But do be careful. It's a dangerous world out there."

"Thank you, ma'am," Yang bowed her head. "I'll do everything in my power to get Ruby back. That's a promise."

"I'll hold you to that. Good luck."

* * *

"And how long did she stay here, ma'am?"

"Well, she arrived late last Wednesday, and she slept through the whole night. As far as I know, of course, I don't snoop on my clients…"

"Hmm. Did you talk about anything not related to her stay?"

"Well, she was very, how do I put it… Very talkative. She kept going on about…"

Yang tuned the woman's voice and walked away from her and Qrow, going into the room properly. Supposedly, it had been vacant since Ruby had been there. Yang supposed that was to be expected. The town seemed very out of the way, so it probably didn't get many visitors needing a place to stay.

The bed was made. Yang sat down and ran a hand through it, her thoughts straying from the interrogation and the mission at hand. Ruby had slept right where she was, and now she was gone. No trace left behind.

Back home, Ruby's room was always a mess. Clothes thrown about haphazardly, old school material as well, and of course, the myriad of things she was always tinkering with. She had slowed down with that somewhat since her discovery of her powers, her last invention being Crescent Rose, now in Qrow's possession.

This room was dull. It spoke nothing of Ruby.

"…I did warn her not to go out at night. Our town's quiet and safe, but you never know," the inn owner said exasperatedly. "But I do hope you find her anyway. The girl just wanted to take a walk, and that's not a sin…"

"Yes, ma'am. You can be sure I'll give her a harsh talking to when we find her," Qrow said. "Thank you for your time. We'll be here just a little while more, then we'll leave you alone, okay?"

"Sure. I'll be at the entrance if you need me."

The lady walked off, disappearing down the hallway. Qrow leaned on the doorway, his arms crossed as he looked at Yang.

"Hey, kid. Don't give up yet," he said. "We're far from being finished."

"I know, but…" Yang looked away. "We knew she wasn't going to have anything useful to say. Beacon's already done all the asking. There's _nothing_ for us to go on."

"Well, obviously there isn't, or else we wouldn't be here," Qrow pointed out. "If this was only a matter of following the clues, Beacon would have found Ruby already. But she's not going to fall out of the sky and onto our laps. This is gonna be tricky, and that's why I'm on the job."

"Alright. Sorry. I'm just worried, that's all," Yang got up from the bed, breathing out calmly. "So, if we have no clues, what's the next step?"

"We look at the less obvious places."

He turned and walked away. Yang hung around for a moment, astounded that he would leave her just like that. She shook her head and went after him.

She caught up to him outside the inn. "Can you please not be so dramatic, like, ever again?" She asked. "Where are we going?"

"We're backtracking her steps," Qrow said. "Prepare yourself, kid. This might take a while."

"A while?" Yang repeated. "How long is a while?"

Qrow stopped to look back at her, his lips parting in a bitter smile. "Long enough that you should get used to leaving disappointed."

He resumed walking, headed in the direction the Quinjet was parked. Yang watched him leave in silence. Why did he have to be so harsh? Why couldn't he just lie to her, like her father did?

She clenched her fists. It didn't matter what he had to say. Yang had made a promise to Ruby, long ago. No matter what she had to do, no matter how long it took, she was going to keep it.

Ruby was out there, and Yang was going to find her.


	3. Fronttracking pays off

One thing Yang was quickly coming to realize was just how much backtracking sucks. She wasn't even retracing her own steps, but Ruby's, and still the experience was a drag. It was all a matter of following a line back through all the places her sister had passed by last, comparing the reports from Beacon and what the locals had to say, and in the end leaving without having learned anything new at all.

Maybe that was why she was so frustrated. If the backtracking had actually produced any results, Yang knew she wouldn't be complaining about it. But as it was, that was the only thing she could latch onto to vent her feelings. Without that, all that was left for her was to sit quiet, feeling helpless and hopeless… And the more time passed, the closer she was getting to that.

Kicking herself mentally, Yang raised her head and turned her attention back to her uncle, who was exchanging words with a waitress who had served Ruby a few days before she went missing. Yang knew the last thing Ruby would want was for her to be sulky, even if things looked bleak. Yang was her big sister, her ever-present ray of sunlight, so that was how she would stay until they were reunited.

"She said she was just passing through, that she was staying the night here then leaving early in the morning," the waitress recalled, a concerned expression on her face. "I didn't really think much about it, except that she looked a little young to be travelling on her own. A lot of people pass by our town. I figured she was just another one."

"Well, she wasn't lying, so don't feel guilty about it. And as for her being young, that's true, but Ruby's more capable taking care of herself than she looks," Qrow said. " _But_ we are thinking she might have pushed herself a little too hard, skipped a few too many hours of sleep… Right, Yang?"

"Huh?" Yang looked at him confusedly. That was the first time she was hearing about that. "Yeah, that's a, uh, theory. For sure."

"Yes! So, did she look tired?" Qrow turned to face the waitress again, cracking a roguish smile. "Or did she look as full of youthful energy as you right now?"

The waitress blushed a little and looked away coyly. "N-no, she didn't look tired at all… In fact, she was almost _too_ chipper for someone traveling around like that."

"Ah, that certainly puts a hole in our theory," Qrow sighed dramatically. "Gosh, and I really thought we were getting close to solving this case. Poor Ruby…"

"I'm so sorry," the waitress lowered her head solemnly. "I wish I could help more."

"Maybe you can!" Qrow exclaimed, just a tad too loud. "Let me give you my phone number, so if you remember anything important, you can call and tell me!"

Yang's jaw dropped at the sheer absurdity of what she had just heard. It couldn't be true. Surely she was misjudging things and Qrow was actually trying to further the investigation.

"Oh," the waitress' blush turned a shade darker, and her lips parted in a little smile. "That would make me very happy, if I could help just a little more…"

"Yes!" Qrow grabbed a napkin and took a pen from his pocket. "And you should give me your number too! Just in case I have any more questions."

"That sounds sensible." The waitress giggled.

"Well, thank you," Qrow winked. "Girls call me lots of things, but sensible is rarely ever-"

Yang got up and grabbed him by the ear, dragging him out of his seat and towards the door. "That won't be necessary!" She shouted back to the waitress. "Thanks for your time, you were very helpful! Bye bye!"

Yang kicked open the door and shoved her uncle outside. Qrow hopped forward a little, holding his ear and pouting like a reprimanded child. Yang put her hands on her hips and just stared at him.

"What?" He asked. "I was just having fun back there. Or, to be more precise, planning to have some fun."

" _Uncle_! Eeew!" Yang grimaced. "Don't say that! She was half your age!"

"Hey, I'm not that old!" Qrow said. "And what's with the grossed-out act? You're an adult, you know how things are."

"Yeah, but that doesn't make you flirting in front of me any less disgusting," Yang groaned. "We're supposed to be looking for Ruby. Can we get back to that?"

"You're right. Let's focus on Ruby." Qrow nodded seriously and turned away, starting to walk towards where he had parked his airship.

Yang sighed in relief and followed him. As frustrating as _secret agent_ Qrow could be, she much preferred him to _pervert uncle_ Qrow.

"Did you get anything new from this stop? Because I didn't," Yang said. "It seems very everywhere Ruby went, she just stayed for a couple days then left, and always her bubbly self."

"I got nothing," Qrow said. "I have to admit I might be getting a little frustrated myself, which is a good sign we should change tactics."

Yang couldn't help but get a little excited by the suggestion. "Change tactics? What do you have in mind?"

"Less backtracking… more fronttracking," Qrow blinked. "Wait, that's not a word."

He cleared his throat awkwardly. Yang had a feeling he had been making a conscious effort of appearing serious on the job ever since she had joined him. She could only imagine how terribly he acted when she wasn't around.

"Explain?" Yang asked helpfully.

"Yes, I will," Qrow raised a finger sagely. "We've had no luck tracing your sister's trajectory backwards. It's unlikely we'll find anything relevant going even further back. If there is anything to be discovered in her mission routine, it will be found _after_ the night of her disappearance."

"So what you mean is we're gonna check on what she was supposed to do after her last mission?" Yang asked. "I don't see how that will help. Still, it's better than nothing…"

"Indeed. We just might stumble upon something. Remember, this is not one of those silly procedurals you'll find on television," Qrow said. "Things are rarely that neat in the real world."

Yang frowned. That didn't sound encouraging at all. But she supposed Qrow's goal never had been to sugarcoat the reality of their mission. She could appreciate that, somewhat.

"Hey, what was the name of that diner again?" Qrow asked, looking back over his shoulder.

"I don't know," Yang said. "Why do you ask?"

"For the purpose of research," Qrow shrugged. "And I might pay that place a visit once the mission's over. I liked their… pancakes."

"Oh my God!" Yang punched him in the shoulder. "I'm not speaking to you ever again."

* * *

Getting info on Ruby's schedule was an easier task than Yang had imagined. With Beacon being such a secretive organization, especially when it came to Grimm, she figured they would fight tooth and nail to keep their agents' activities under wraps. But one phone call with sub-director Goodwitch was all Qrow needed to get what they wanted. Maybe that was because Glynda really wanted Ruby to be found, as she had told Yang, or maybe Qrow had more influence than he let on. The reason was most likely a mixture of both.

Sitting at the cockpit of his eponymous aircraft, Qrow pulled the information from his Beacon-issue phone onto the Quinjet's system. A screen on the control panel lit up and displayed a map of the northern half of Vale, with several red and black dots littering the landscape. Yang examined at it from up close, trying to appear like she was making some in-depth analysis of the map, while truthfully, she didn't have a clue what she was looking at.

"So, your sister was going to head closer to mountain Glenn up north, taking care of some surges on the way, and when she got there, she was going to circle around the mountain and head back south doing the same thing," Qrow said. "I have to admit that's kinda impressive. Usually it takes a half-dozen agents to handle such a big area, but Ruby was going to do it all by herself."

"And she was going to finish the job, if it weren't for… whatever happened," Yang shook her head. She pointed at the screen, deciding to give up on interpreting the map herself and just ask Qrow to explain. "What are those red dots?"

"Those are Grimm surges. Beacon has the technology to read their energy signatures and predict where they are going to happen. That's how their agents are able to deal with them before they get out of hand," Qrow said. "The brighter they are, the sooner they are to happening."

"There are some black dots," Yang pointed out. "What about those?"

"Those are Grimm surges that have already been closed. You can see Ruby left a lot of those on her trail," Qrow scratched his chin thoughtfully, then tapped one of the red dots closest to them. "Ruby would be dealing with this one if she weren't missing. That's where we'll head next."

"Wait… Are we going to fight Grimm?" Yang asked, her heartbeat speeding up a little.

"Unless you wanna get eaten, yes," Qrow grinned. "Scared?"

"No way. I've killed Grimm before," Yang paused. "Okay, _one_ Grimm. But it was very easy."

"Let's hope it's just as easy this time, then," Qrow said. "It'll take a couple hours to get there. You should get some sleep."

Yang wanted to dismiss his suggestion, but she couldn't pretend she wasn't feeling just a bit exhausted. Although she had spent most of the last few days comfortable inside the Crow, her mind was always on Ruby, and that was taking a toll on her. Going without sleep would get her nowhere closer to finding her sister, it would only make the search even more difficult.

"Alright," she said, getting up from her seat. "See you later, uncle."

Qrow took out his trusty flask and shook it in her direction. "Sleep well, don't let the bedbugs bite, yadda yadda yadda."

Yang rolled her eyes and walked to the back of the ship, where a retractable bed from the wall awaited her use. She laid down and closed her eyes, slowly tuning out the noise of the Quinjet flying.

* * *

Before she even had the time to dream, two things woke her up.

First, a deafening noise from outside the Quinjet, like an explosion had gone off. Second, her falling right off the bed and onto the ground, which didn't hurt at all, but certainly alarmed her.

Shaking off her drowsiness, Yang sat up and looked around, expecting to find a huge hole somewhere along the walls, but there was nothing. "Uncle Qrow?" She yelled. "What's going on?"

He came running from the cockpit, stumbling a little, which was the only indication he was drunk. The expression on his face was unlike any Yang had seen him wear before. It was like he was brimming with rage, but hidden somewhere within that was an even bigger fear.

"Stay there." He said, then took a hallway to left between the cockpit and the back of the Quinjet, which she imagined followed the left wing.

Yang obeyed him without question, continuing glued to the floor like a child waiting for a parent to come back and tell her everything was okay again. It would have been embarrassing, if she weren't so aware of how serious the situation was. For all she knew, the plane could be under attack by some bad guys or flying Grimm, or a wing had caught fire or fallen right off. She'd rather stay put and entrust her uncle with her safety than risking both their lives for the sake of her pride.

After what felt like ages, Qrow finally came back, leaning against the walls of the Quinjet as if he were about to collapse. There was sweat dripping down his forehead, and his face was deathly pale.

"It's alright now," he muttered, his words slurring together. "Isalright…"

"Uncle!" Yang got up and grabbed him by the shoulders, then put him sitting down on the bed. "What happened?"

"Nothing. Just a minor malfunction," Qrow waved her off. "Took care of it."

"What do you mean a minor malfunction? Could we have gone down?" Yang asked, eyes wide.

"Whaat?" He looked away. " _No_."

Yang looked at him in disbelief, taking in the way he was wavering a little. She wanted nothing more than to punch him then and there, but she held back her rage and instead pushed him so he was laying down.

"You're gonna sleep that off," she stated firmly, trying to invoke her father's strict tone she was so used to being on the receiving end of. "I can't believe you. Ruby's missing, and you're… ugh."

She threw her arms up and stomped her way to the cockpit, leaving him behind. Right as she went to sit down on her seat, her foot hit something. She looked down and saw Qrow's flask lying on the floor. Grunting angrily, she bent down and picked it up, only to be surprised by how heavy it felt. She raised it up to her ear and shook it.

It was full.

* * *

For the next hour, Yang just sat in silence and let the plane fly on autopilot, trusting that Qrow had programmed their destination correctly. She didn't have the energy to get up and ask him to make sure that was the case, and, if she was being honest with herself, she was too confused to face him again any time soon.

This was just what she needed. On top of a missing sister, she now also had an uncle who was either a hopeless drunk _or_ pretended to be a hopeless drunk, for some mysterious reason. Add in the dead adoptive mother and the missing biological mother, and she nearly had the recipe for the perfect family. All that she needed now was for her father to tell her about some terminal disease of his, or something like that, and then she was set.

"Stop," she rubbed her forehead tiredly. "Sunshine. Happy thoughts. For Ruby."

Some time later, the Quinjet came to a gentle halt and started to descend. Qrow arrived from the back and sat down to take control properly. Yang kept her gaze away from him. Only when they landed did he speak.

"Well, this is it," he said casually. "It's seven o'clock. Surge should be after eleven. Lots of downtime until then."

"Yeah…" Yang got up. "I'm going into town. Maybe I'll find out something about Ruby there."

"Doesn't sound likely. But go ahead, if that's what you need."

Once more, Yang had to hold back from hitting him. One minute he was incoherent, the other he was dismissing her like she was a child. It was insufferable.

"I didn't ask for your approval!" Yang exclaimed. She paused, and the heavy silence that followed made her realize how petty she had just sounded. "So, yeah, bye!"

She pressed a button on the control panel to open the hangar, then walked away, holding her head high. She left the plane, and the fresh night air washed over her face, blowing a few strands of hair in front of her eyes. Yang swept them away and sighed.

Qrow had a point, as always. It was unlikely she would come across something in a town Ruby hadn't even visited. But she did need something to occupy her mind, or else she was going to blow up from stress.

She turned to look at the town, not far away from where they had landed. It was a bigger settlement than the others they had visited, having more than a few multi-storied buildings sprinkled throughout it. Dozens of windows shone in the dark. There was a nightlife here, it seemed.

Maybe she could find something _useful_ to do here tonight, after all.

* * *

The bar was more lively than usual, Junior realized. Even for summer standards, when all the young people who studied in the city came back home to part and spend time with family, tonight was exceptional. Maybe it was the peak of the season, he theorized, or maybe it was because this year was bringing a record number of travelers. Either way, his wallet was very happy about it… which only made it more important for him to make sure _everything_ went perfectly from opening until closing.

"You!" He grabbed a waiter by the collar of his shirt and shook him about roughly. "Get that icebox refilled before it runs out! And cut up some more lemon slices!"

"Yes sir!" The waiter nodded fervently. "Cut horizontally, vertically, or in circles?"

"I don't care! Do I look like a lemon expert to you?!" Junior shouted. When the waiter started to open his mouth, he yelled again and shoved him away. "Don't answer that, just do as you're told!"

"Yes sir, yes sir!"

As his underling scurried away, Junior turned back to the counter, a thin line of sweat running down the back of his neck as he realized how small his team was in relation to the number of costumers asking for drinks. At this point, he was beginning to fear he might have to call the Malachite sisters to help out, but he knew how aggravating they could get when they were put to work on something they didn't like. Stressful as it might be, he preferred doing the deed himself than resorting to that.

Bracing himself, he stepped up to the counter and began to take in orders. He was a little rusty, having gone months without making a drink for anyone other than himself, but he did more than fine enough, by his own measures. It was more than he could say for most of his employees.

A few minutes after his stepping into the job, there came a lull in the orders. The crowd in front of the counter spread to the rest of the bar, where they danced and sang and did whatever else young people liked to do these days. Only a few remained, all of them sitting in the stools, forming pairs or groups, except for one.

Junior walked a little close to the girl, just enough to be in ear range. He didn't recognize her, so she was probably visiting or passing by. She looked to be the age to be making road trips. And she looked just too chipper as she chatted with one of the bartenders, who looked more than a little content to hear every word that left her mouth.

"-so he's just weird like that. He pretends, except he does drink a lot actually, but sometimes he doesn't," she was saying. "Maybe he's just messing with me. We joke around a lot like that, except this time… well, he really shouldn't be doing that kind of thing."

She leaned on the counter and looked up at the bartender. A couple seconds passed before he realized she expected a response. Junior held back a laugh at his expense.

"Sounds like he may be, I don't know, depressed or something?" The bartender suggested. "We get some people like that. You can tell they don't _like_ to drink, but they have to do it, for some reason. And it sounds like you two are going through some tough times."

"Yeah…" She ran a hand down through her hair with a faraway look in her eyes. "I guess. He likes Ruby a lot too. It's easy to forget that sometimes. He wants to find her as much as I do."

Junior frowned. What the hell was she talking about? He didn't like the sounds of it, not at all.

"Well, uh, I wish I could say you'll find her eventually," the bartender's voice dropped a little. "But that would feel wrong. Truth is, this isn't the first time I hear of people going missing around here. It happens more frequently than you would think."

The girl's head snapped up. "It does?" She pushed her drink away. "Tell me about it."

"Well, it's usually…" The man's voice trailed off as he turned his head and noticed Junior staring right at him. He stuttered a few times, then turned away. "S-sorry. I, uh, forgot I was supposed to do something in the back."

He almost sprinted away, leaving the girl is disbelief where she sat. Junior adjusted his bowtie and walked over to her. He stopped directly in front of her and put his hands down on the counter, conjuring a practice smile.

"Hi, Blondie. Where's your ID?"

"I'm old enough," she said, her voice too steady for someone sitting at the counter. He glanced at her glass and saw it was practically untouched. "If you don't trust me, just ask your employee. The one you scared off just now."

"He had something to do in the back." Junior said, keeping up his smile.

"Oh, okay," she picked up her glass and raised it to her lips, but stopped just short of drinking from it. "So, lots of people go missing around these parts, huh? Sounds sinister."

Despite his best efforts, his smile crumbled away. The way her eyes lit up at that confirmed that she wasn't just here to enjoy some leisure time.

"Yeah. Very sinister," he leaned towards her, making his voice very low. "And that's just how it's supposed to be. It's an urban legend. We like to use them to keep our kids from wandering around at night."

"I doubt you have kids…" She looked at the name etched on his uniform. " _Junior_ ," she grinned. "But don't urban legends always born from something real? I mean, there's gotta be something about this area that would make people think there's kid snatchers lurking around, right?"

"Maybe. I wouldn't know about that," he said through gritted teeth. "And I don't like to think or talk about it. It's not pleasant, don't you agree?"

She shrugged and sipped her drink. Junior sighed, glad she was finally letting go of the matter.

Then suddenly, his forehead was slammed against the counter, and he heard the noise of glass shattering on the floor. He brought his head back up, but was only able to go so far with hands closed around his collar in an iron grip. The people around them gasped and backed away.

"What the hell is the matter with you?!" He shouted. "Let me go, you psycho!"

"Cut the act, Junior! I know you know something!" She exclaimed. "You're going to tell me _now_ , or I'm going to force you to!"

"No! You can go-"

She slammed him down again, even stronger this time. She did it one more time, then dragged him through the counter onto the other side, then shoved him away from her. He stumbled back, blood dripping from his nose. The music stopped, and everyone fell silent.

"Are you going to talk now?" She asked. "You better. This is your last chance before I start doing some real damage, not only to you, but to your whole business."

"You're crazy," Junior said, wiping his face with the back of his hand. "Who do you think you are to threaten me like that? Do you realize where you're standing?"

He heard two clicks behind him, then saw the Malachite twins stepped beside him, one to his right, the other on his left. They were dressed to party, but the guns on their hands told another story. More security stepped up, coming from the corners of the bar, but they stayed further away.

The girl looked around at every barrel pointed at her. Her expression was neutral, not a single muscle moving. Her violet eyes seemed to be… shimmering?

"Heh."

Junior blinked. " _What_?" He curled his fists and held them at his sides. "What's so funny?"

"Sorry. It's just that… you don't know how lucky you are. If I had actually drank tonight, well…" She paused. "Like I said, you're lucky. I'm going to leave you standing, for now. You'll have enough time to prepare for when I come back. And trust me, you're gonna need that."

And with that, she turned and walked away, not minding that every gun inside the bar was still aimed at her. She opened the front door and stepped outside, whistling softly all the while.

Slowly, the music came back on. A bunch of his clients started to leave, and the ones that remained where more focused on talking about what had just happened than anything else. Junior slammed a hand on the bar, then grabbed a napkin and pressed it to his nose.

He couldn't believe it. A brat like that, sniffing around his business and threatening him like that. She could be laying on the floor right now, riddled with bullets, but she hadn't batted an eye. She had the gall to say _he_ was the lucky one.

"Goddamnit," he grunted. " _Goddamnit_!"

And, sure as hell, he believed her.

* * *

"Uncle!"

Yang marched inside the Quinjet and went straight into the cockpit. Qrow jumped on his seat and nearly fell on the floor. "Holy- what are you yelling for, you maniac child?!"

"First off, I am not a child!" Yang stated. "Second, I think I discovered a clue. A real clue!"

"The fact that you're calling it a 'clue' makes me very skeptical of it already, but sure, go ahead and tell me," Qrow said. "Wait. We should get going. The surge is happening soon, and we should get there ahead of time ideally. You can tell me on the way."

They exited the Quinjet, and Qrow activated its camouflage, just to ensure nothing bad happened to it. He then began to walk away from town, and Yang followed him.

He seemed more stable now, but there was still something weird about him. Whatever he was wrestling with, he had managed to push down and hide a little, but not enough for her not to notice. She wanted to ask him about it, but there were other things on her mind, and she didn't want to make the day any worse for them.

"So, what did you find?" He asked. "Did you discover a witch's lair and struck a deal with her to cast a locating spell using a lock of Ruby's hair?"

"No! Come on, uncle, witches don't exist," Yang rolled her eyes. "…Right?"

"Of course they don't. Our world is crazy enough already with just Grimm and Semblances," Qrow chuckled. "But, for real now, what's this clue?"

"Well, I went to a bar, which I am sure you approve of," Yang said. "And I talked to some of the bartenders. Turns out there are a lot of cases of people going missing around here. Like, in every town around mountain Glenn. The owner of the place seemed to not like people talking about that, so I got suspicious and beat him up a little to make him talk."

"You did what?!" Qrow turned to stare at her. "Yang, you can't just beat people up like that!"

Yang raised an eyebrow at him. "Uh, why not?"

"Because… power! Responsibility! And, and…" Qrow looked up at the sky and scoffed. "Eh, who am I kidding? I would have done the same. Good instincts, kid."

"Thanks, I guess," Yang said. "He refused to say something. I could have forced him, but I didn't want to make a mess, so I left. I thought we can go back together, you might be able to get something out of him better than me."

"Maybe. For now, let's focus on the Grimm."

They walked off the main road and into fields dense with trees and bushes. The closer to Glenn, the greener the terrain got, and right now they were starting to get very close. The ground was soft, almost muddy. Yang twisted her nose, wishing the Grimm would have chosen a less dirty place to invade from.

"We're lucky this is the place," Qrow said. "We're late, but the Grimm won't be able to get far with so much standing in their way. Get ready to…"

He stopped walking suddenly, and Yang almost crashed into him. She was about to ask him why, but he pointed to the right. Between the trees, she could see a beaten trail, and around it, stretch marks, like those a truck would make on soil like that.

Yang looked at her uncle, and he nodded. Quietly, carefully, they went on. Finally, they reached the edge of a clearing. Qrow hid behind a tree, while Yang crouched behind a bush, keeping her eyes above it so she could still look.

In the middle of the clearing, seven wolf-like Grimm roamed about, their heads low and eyes shining faintly red. They didn't look like the creatures of nightmare Yang had imagined, but much rather like docile animals.

Two trucks were parked at the opposite end of the clearing, their backs opened to reveal a stack of cages big enough to contain gorillas, except inside them were Grimm. And standing beside them, herding the creatures along, were a group of humans.

"Well, then. Looks like we stumbled upon something," Qrow whispered. "How neat."


	4. Guaranteed catastrophe

          

Yang truly did not know how to feel. She had followed her uncle expecting a fight against Grimm, her first ever – except for that one Beowolf she had faced back home. She had been a little nervous, but also oddly excited. But now…

Now things were just _weird_.

"They're kidnapping Grimm?" she whispered, turning to look at her uncle. "Is this a common thing?"

"Nope. Also, I wouldn't use the term kidnapping. Those are Grimm, not people," Qrow said, his voice full of disdain. Whether that was towards the Grimm or the snatchers, Yang couldn't tell. "I can't fathom why anyone would herd Grimm like that. Those are crazy people, Yang."

Yang looked back at the clearing. "I guess there's only one way to find out."

She cracked her knuckles. Qrow tilted his head a little, as if considering if that was a good way of approaching the situation. It didn't take long for him to give his answer, in the form of a shrug and a nod.

Yang stepped out of the woods and into the clearing, pointing a finger towards the trucks. "Hey! Animal Cruelty Police!" she yelled. "You're in big trouble, fellas!"

The snatchers standing near the trucks gasped, their hands flying to their hips. Others appeared, appearing from the woods or the other side of the trucks. Suddenly, Yang had a dozen high-caliber firearms pointed at her. She didn't give that much mind. What did worry her was how all the Grimm not yet in their cages turned their heads to glare at her in perfect unity, as if some hidden force was conducting them like puppets. Their forms shifted as they braced themselves to leap, darkness flowing off of them, and their red eyes glowed maliciously.

"What the hell is this?" one of the snatchers stepped forward. "How did this _girl_ get here?"

"You really ought to see about your security," Yang said. "So, what are you guys up to? You building a Grimm circus or something? If so, I am totally in."

"Shut up!" he shouted, then looked over his shoulder at his friends. "Who's the idiot that let her get close enough to see?"

"I don't know, boss," one of them said. "…Not me. Definitely."

"I think we got your guy," Yang said. "I'm guessing you're not gonna answer my questions. Also, I'm guessing you're not gonna let me walk away after seeing what's going on here," she grinned. "Let's cut the crap and get to it, then."

"Idiot girl," the boss growled. "Kill her!"

Ruby had described vividly how tanking a bullet felt. The first time, she was hit right in the head almost at point blank. It had hurt so much she had almost fainted, and it took a long time for the dizziness to pass.

Yang couldn't identify with that. She barely felt the impact of the bullets on her body. It was more bothersome than painful, like someone was poking her very furiously over and over again. Even so, she had the presence of mind to raise her arms in front of her face to protect her eyes and mouth. As durable as she was, she imagined a hit to those would still hurt like hell.

Inside, she felt an exhilarating feeling growing, a huge power waiting to be let loose.

Eventually, the rain of bullets stopped. She lowered her arms and saw the ground was littered with spent rounds. The bad guys were looking at her in shock. Even their boss couldn't hide his emotions well. His rifle was shaking in his hands, and he started to slowly back away.

"Now, now. Where are you going?" Yang raised her hands, feigning indignation. "I haven't had my turn yet."

"Forget the girl!" the boss yelled. "Retreat! Leave the rest of the Black Ones behind!"

"Hey! Rude!" Yang exclaimed. "Also, Black Ones?"

One of the snatchers began to run back, but a bullet got between him and the front of the truck, just missing his head. Qrow stepped into the clearing from the right, pointing a pistol.

"She's right, you know," he said. "You're all very rude."

The boss turned to aim at him and pulled the trigger. Qrow ran to the side, avoiding the bullets, and disappeared behind cover again. The snatchers ran to the front of the trucks and started to get in.

Hearing the motors kick in, Yang started to run towards the trucks. Before she could get close, the Grimm, which had been lying in wait until then, finally sprung to action, quite literally. Seven wolf-shaped shadows came leaping at Yang, who could do nothing but turn back and run out of range of their claws.

Spinning around, she was immediately met with another claw swing by one of the beasts. Holding her breath, Yang got her head out of the way just in time, then punched the Grimm right in the chest. It reeled back, howling in pain.

Yang blinked, surprised that her attack hadn't killed the Grimm outright. Back in Vale, all it had taken to kill the Beowolf was one punch. What was different now?

The wolf ran at her again, and this time she was too slow to dodge. Its strike caught her neatly in the cheek, knocking her back. Real impact. Real pain, even if still small.

The power inside her doubled.

Letting out a wordless shout, Yang dashed forward and punched the Grimm in the chest again. The weight of the blow rang through her body. She felt flesh turn to smoke under her fist. Then the Grimm was gone.

Six left.

The Beowolves attacked together again, clawing and biting, leaving little room to dodge. Forgoing her kickboxing training, Yang decided to tank the claws, rolling with the blows as they came, and dished out two punches to end the Grimm using their teeth.

Four.

She grabbed one of the Grimm by the hair of its chest and lifted it above her, then slammed it down on another's head. With both of them on the ground, Yang raised her leg, then stomped with all her force.

Two.

A blow to her back knocked her forward and nearly off her feet. Yang stumbled for a while, then adjusted her balance and spun on one leg while delivering a powerful skin with the other.

One.

The last Beowolf stopped where it stood, hunched menacingly, and roared. Yang flinched in reflex, then straightened one arm out, punching it right in the face.

And then there were none.

Yang breathed out in relief, then looked around. Through the dissipating Grimm-smoke, she saw the two trucks start moving, leaving the clearing through the beaten trail she had seen before.

On top of one of them, she saw something astounding… but predictable.

* * *

Qrow buried the blade of his knife on the roof of the truck and held on tight. The measure paid off immediately as they exited the woods and took a steep turn to get into the main road. He didn't fall, and once the truck stabilized, he took back his knife and stood up halfway, then started moving towards the front.

He needed to act fast, as the other truck was following right behind and there was a chance he would be spotted. That would put him a very precarious position, mildly speaking. The fact that it was night and his attire was mostly black helped, but he knew better than to count on that.

Just as he reached the front, yelling broke out from the other truck. Qrow looked over his shoulder, sure that he had been spotted, but soon realized that wasn't the case at all. Yang was climbing onto the truck, bending the metal under her fingers. Just from looking, he could tell she was overflowing with power. Good. She would make a nice distraction.

He inched towards the edge of the roof, then stuck out the upper half of his body, hanging upside-down right at the right window of the truck. Before the man closest to him could react, he yanked the gun from his hands and tossed it away, then swung inside.

His movement knocked the man out of his seat and slammed him into the windshield. Qrow grabbed the next criminal by the head and tossed her to the back row, stopping the others there from attacking him.

The driver looked at him in bewilderment, but didn't let go of the wheel.

"Is there any chance you could just step on the brake and save all of us a lot of trouble?" Qrow asked.

"Get off!" The driver spun the wheel, turning the truck abruptly. Everyone inside slammed into the right wall, save for him. Qrow saw the other truck still following, with Yang tearing a hole above the driver's seat with her bare hands.

"Alright, you've forced my hand," Qrow said, taking out his pistol and pointing it at the driver's head. "Stop this vehicle, or you get a nice piece of lead in your skull."

The driver looked at him, then at the road ahead, then turned the wheel again and let go. The truck went spinning and spinning. The driver lunged at him. Qrow took his shot.

For a split second, the world became black and white, and he instantly regretted his decision.

The bullet missed the driver entirely, instead going out the window and onto the sideview mirror, from where it bounced off. It hit one of the other truck's tires and pierced right through. The vehicle veered to the side, then toppled onto the ground… and disappeared in a colossal ball of gas and fire.

"Yang!" Qrow screamed, but his voice was overtaken by the explosion as it reached his truck.

* * *

Pain. Brightness. Confusion, helplessness. Out of breath. _Power_.

Yang stumbled out of the flames, gasping for air. She fell to her knees and coughed uncontrollably. She couldn't have been in there for more than a minute, but she felt as if her lungs were filled with smoke.

She looked up. The other truck lay on its side, having somehow avoided the first's fate. The back of it was blown open, however, and several cages were scattered on the road. Most of the Grimm had died because of the explosion, but the ones that hadn't… Those were very angry. Angry enough to burst out of their confinement and rush towards the first sign of life they detected.

Yang stood up and raised her arm, blocking a blow from a huge Ursa. Her knees buckled and she was driven back down. The Ursa stepped back and swung a claw, connecting with her face. Two gashes opened on her left cheek.

Out of Aura. One clean blow, regardless of her superpowers, and she was done. But the damage that she had sustained to reach that point…

Yang yelled, and the world heated up around her, but different from when she was immersed in the flames, it didn't hurt. It felt right. She dashed forward, leaving a flaming trail behind her, and swung a fist. The punch connected with the Ursa's chest, staggering it, and then a maelstrom of fire released from the point of impact, engulfing the beast and turning it to ash.

Yang yelled again, then looked around. Two Beowolves had escaped their cages, but after witnessing what she had just done, they were terrified of approaching her. A moment passed as they stared at her and she stared at them. Suddenly, they bolted in different directions. Acting on instinct, Yang swung a punch, shooting a burst of fire from her hand. It reached one of the Beowolves and killed it instantly. Yang turned to the remaining one and repeated the attack, vanquishing it too.

Not letting her guard down, Yang looked around. There were no Grimm left. If any more had escaped their cages, they were too far already for her to catch them. Aside from that, she couldn't see any survivors from the crash, or…

Suddenly, a man stumbled out of the truck and started running away in desperation. Yang started towards him, but stopped when she saw someone else appear. Her heart almost burst when she saw Qrow catch up to the criminal and touch his gun to the back of his skull.

"Listen here. I am all out of patience," Qrow said. The tone of his voice was so dark, for a moment Yang thought she had mistaken him for someone else. But no, that was her uncle speaking. "You are going to tell me everything about what you were doing here. I want to know every excruciating detail about your operation and your people. Lie to me, and you're going to wish you died together with your folks on that truck."

"O-or what?" the man stuttered. "You're going to kill me?"

"Oh. _Oh_ ," Qrow leaned forward, speaking at his ear. "Wouldn't that be a relief."

The man froze. Then suddenly, he turned and ran, not away from Qrow, but towards Yang. She braced herself, careful since her Aura was still depleted, but the snatcher ran past her… and leapt into the fire.

" _BLACK ONES AVENGE ME!_ "

Yang jumped away from the fire, unable to tear her eyes away from the silhouette of the man. He stood for a full minute, throwing his body around, before fading in the red and orange.

"…Damn."

Qrow limped to her side, holding his right arm like it was injured. He stared at the fire for a while, then bowed his head.

"Come on, Yang. There's nothing left for us to do here," he said somberly. "Let's go."

* * *

The walk back to the Quinjet was silent. After almost dying because of an exploding truck and discovering she could shoot fire out of her hands, Yang was too shaken to say anything. And if that wasn't enough, her body was actually hurting, and she couldn't remember the last time that had happened. It wasn't bad enough that she couldn't function well, but suddenly feeling those sensations again was disorientating.

Qrow didn't speak a word either. He looked even worse than before, when the Quinjet had 'malfunctioned', and Yang knew it wasn't because he was in pain. Something was haunting him, weighting him down, and she feared at any moment he would stop and break.

They reached the Crow and went inside. Qrow sat down on the pilot's seat and was still for a moment, his eyes glazed, before leaning forward to use the Quinjet's systems. Yang leaned her body against a wall, forcing herself to relax. Slowly, her breathing evened, and she began to feel the immense reservoir of power she had gathered ebbing out of her.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"Contacting Beacon," Qrow answered, his voice barely above a whisper. "We don't want people coming across the mess we left on the road. They'll take care of it."

"Did all those men really… die?"

"Yeah, except that one guy, but he didn't last long either." Qrow shook his head.

"Wow," it didn't do justice to what she was feeling, but that was all Yang could think to say. Sure, those men certainly weren't good people, evident by how they had tried to kill both her and Qrow, but even so, she didn't think they deserved to die. "I guess you were lucky to make it out alive too."

"Yeah, I'm _real_ lucky," Qrow spat out, tapping a few last commands on the control panel before hanging back on his seat.

Yang went to her chair and sat down on its arm, facing Qrow. She couldn't bear to think of what had happened anymore, but she couldn't take her mind off it. She closed her eyes and rubbed her temples, her heartbeat rising to her throat.

She had come so close… If she had died, how would her dad have taken the news? He had already lost Summer, and whatever had happened between him and her mother had also hurt him a lot. He didn't even know that she had superpowers. And Ruby…

Ruby. _Right_. There was no use in worrying about what could have been. If her mind was stuck on the crash, then she could at least use that productively. Qrow and her had come here to investigate, after all, and that was how they came across the men with the Grimm.

"Uncle, how likely is it that those guys would show up to take some Grimm, right where Ruby would have been?" she said, looking up. An idea was starting to form inside her head, a vague one, but an idea nonetheless. "Right after she disappeared… _when_ dealing with another Grimm surge."

Qrow's countenance didn't lighten, but he did look at her with renewed attention. "It could be a coincidence," he said. "…But it's not. It can't be. That wasn't those guys' first time doing whatever they were doing."

"Ruby could have come across them too," Yang theorized, getting louder. It was terrible, but she couldn't help but get excited. They were finally getting somewhere! "Maybe she tried to stop them, and they took her."

"That could be it. They must have more people, that's certain. And wherever they take the Grimm must be close, if they're transporting them by truck," Qrow said. "They had a lot of firepower, and that doesn't come out of nowhere. Someone supplied them. And somehow, they can control Grimm, or make them docile…"

Yang got up and paced around, racking her brain for answers. A lot of firepower. Somewhere close…

"Mountain Glenn! People are disappearing all around it," she said. "Junior! He didn't want anyone talking about it. He has to know more… maybe he's one of them!"

"Let's not jump to conclusions," Qrow said, raising an open hand. "I'll investigate in the morning. Right after I get you home, or wherever you wanna be dropped off."

Yang stopped in her tracks and turned to look at him, sure that she had heard him wrong. But she hadn't. He was avoiding her eyes. He didn't regret saying that, but he didn't want to deal with the consequences.

"What?" Yang spoke. "You don't mean…?"

"Yeah, I do," Qrow sighed. "Listen, Yang. I'm sorry. I just… I can't have you helping with the investigation, not anymore," he paused. "It was a mistake from the very beginning."

"Excuse me?" now Yang was getting angry. "You were the one who got me into this mess in the first place. I could be on vacation right now, blissfully ignorant that my sister is missing because of some stupid _cult_ or something, but I'm here with you!"

"I said it was a mistake, and that I'm sorry," he said quietly. "It's too dangerous for you."

"I'm practically invulnerable!" Yang retorted.

"And you almost died today!" Qrow shouted and stood up, pointing a finger at her nose. "I don't care what you have to say, I'm your uncle and what I say goes! Now sit down and be quiet!"

Yang's jaw dropped in shock. Qrow had never, _never_ spoken to her like that. He wasn't supposed to. Even when her father was mad at her, Qrow always took her side. That was how things worked between them. And now he was going against that? It was just… _infuriating_.

"No!" she slapped his hand away. "You don't get to act like you're my father! You don't get to act like you're… like you're responsible for me! Okay? You don't get to," her voice took a nosedive. "You weren't there before. You can't start when it suits you."

Qrow didn't reply. He turned and sat back down, gaze fixed ahead of him. Not a word left his mouth.

Yang clucked her tongue. "That's what I thought," she walked past him to open the hangar using the Quinjet's system, then turned away. "I'll be back later. If you abandon me, at least leave Bumblebee behind."

Again, Qrow didn't even look at her. Yang walked out of the Quinjet, fists clenched.

God, she was mad. She was so mad, she had forgotten all about how she had almost died just an hour earlier. All she could think about was how stupid Qrow was, and…

* * *

"Junior!"

She kicked open the door of the bar, nearly knocking it off its hinges, and strut in. The noise was just loud enough to rise above the music and the voices inside. People stopped partying to look at her, and some – the ones who had been there earlier to witness her first visit – scurried away, disappearing in the crowd in search of an alternative exit.

"Are you a crazy?!" A bouncer came at her, holding a baton still attached to his belt. "Leave now, before-"

She grabbed him by the arm and threw him against a wall, knocking him out cold. "Junior!" she called again. The music stopped. "Come out now, or I'm gonna start smashing stuff – and that includes your little thugs!"

The party lights went off, and the crowd started to run – most towards her, others in any other direction. Yang jumped aside, letting people leave through the front door. As the space inside the bar cleared more and more, she was able to see the other bouncers spring into action, taking out guns and pointing them at her.

Junior came into the main area from a door behind the counter, his face flushed and eyes bulging out of their sockets. His march grinded to a halt when he saw her, and he slammed his hands on the counter. "You – are you crazy?!"

"One of your guys already asked that," Yang pointed at the unconscious bouncer with her thumb. "That was my answer."

"You… you are absolutely insane!" he yelled. "Do you have a death wish?"

"No, but I have some questions to ask," Yang said. "And seeing as how you didn't answer any last time, I already know how this is gonna go," she looked at the bouncers and raised her arms, then opened and closed her hands tauntingly. "Bring it on."

Junior didn't have to give them the go ahead, they shot of their volition. Yang ran to the right. Four bullets pelted her on her arm and back, the rest hit the wall. She had recovered some of her Aura, but not all. Truthfully, she didn't know if even a tenth of it was back. With that in mind, she had to take a different approach to the fight and try her hardest not to get hit.

The bouncers kept shooting and she kept running, but after a while, they seemed to notice she had been hit and stopped, stunned that she hadn't fallen yet. Yang took advantage of the moment and picked up a table, then tossed it at the nearest bouncer, then sprinted to him and punched him in the nose while he was still recovering. She turned to face the others, eyes blazing.

"I'm out," one of the bouncers dropped his gun and ran out the front door. Three more followed, then six more, until just one remained. A few seconds passed, and that one went too. "Was nice working for you, boss!"

Junior poked his head from under the counter. "Cowards! All of you!" He disappeared back down. "Take care of her already, you two!"

Yang tilted her head in confusion. Had she scared him so much Junior had gone mad? Or maybe he was trying to trick her? Either way, she wouldn't have any of it.

She took a step towards the counter, but a hand wrapped around her arm. Suddenly she was pulled back, then met with a vicious kick to the stomach. Yang dropped to her knees in pain. Yep, there wasn't much Aura left anymore.

She looked up and for a moment thought the pain was having a weird effect on her, because she was seeing the same girl twice, except one version was dressed in red, and the other was in white. Both had the same exasperated expression on their faces.

"Oh my gosh, why did he have to call us?" The white one spoke, dragging out the end of the sentence. Her voice was so shrill, Yang's ears hurt. "I don't understand, Miltia, what's the big deal with her?"

"Yaas, what's the big deal?" The red one echoed with the same annoying pattern and voice. "She took a few bullets then went down with one kick. Honestly, Melanie, it doesn't even make sense."

"Let's just kick her some more!"

Yang jumped up and shouted, swinging a fist at Miltia, but she slid to the side neatly. Melanie closed in and kicked Yang in the side, taking the breath out of her. Not giving her a second, Miltia kicked her too, shoving her away.

"She's too easy! What a bore!"

"Yaas! We better get a raise for this."

Simmering with rage, Yang corrected her balance and raised her fists. If these two harpies were going to play hard to catch, then she was going to make use of her recent discovery and get them from afar. Yes, it was a little brutal, but they were _really_ getting on her nerves.

Giving a powerful shout, Yang thrust out an arm. Nothing happened. No fire came out. She just looked like a fool.

"Oh my gosh, what a weirdo! Is she drunk?"

"Nah, she's just crazy. Or maybe we hit her too hard!"

"Her mother dropped her on her head when she was a baby!"

Forgetting about strategy, Yang jumped at them, screaming at the top of her lungs. It was so sudden and so loud, the twins stayed frozen in place, so shocked they were. Yang hit Miltia on the side of her head with her arm, shoving her aside, then drove her foot down on Melanie's knee as she landed. The red sister tumbled to the floor, holding her leg and whimpering.

Miltia recovered and started walking back to her. "Oh my gosh, you are such a bit-" Yang grabbed her by the arm, spun her around, jumped, and connected her foot with the girl's face. Miltia went down with a broken nose and probably a few other broken somethings.

Yang stood in place for a few seconds, winding down, before marching to the counter. "Okay, Junior. Show's over. You can come out now, or I can grab you. Your choice."

She heard shuffling, then suddenly, Junior stood from behind the counter, except he was not scared at all. In his hands was a baseball bat made of metal, which Yang only recognized when it was already mid-swing.

The bar became a blur as Yang seemingly rocketed to the side. Her head rang unbearably. Something wet dripped over her left ear, her hair becoming sticky around that area. She caught hold of a stool, but it toppled with her to the ground.

She rolled over and saw Junior standing over her, holding his baseball bat at waist-level. "Hah. Thought you had me?" he said, breathing hard. "You don't know me. You don't know what I'm capable of," he started to raise the bat. "But you're gonna find out right-"

He was interrupted by a muffled, cheerful song beat. His face went red and his cheeks puffed up. Yang couldn't believe it.

Her phone was ringing in her pocket.

Yang kicked Junior in the ankle, and he fell. He reached for his bat, but it rolled away, out of reach. Yang slammed her fists on the floor, and fire came out of them, propelling her to her feet. Not thinking, she kicked him in the head, knocking him out.

She stared at him. "Uh, guess those questions are gonna have to wait. Oops."

She grabbed a stool and sat down. Her phone was still ringing. Groaning, she struggled to get it out of her pocket. It was probably her father calling to check in on her, or Qrow trying a half-baked apology.

As it turned out, it was an unknown number. Yang hesitated for a moment, then took the call.

"Yes?"

" _Yang? Is that you?_ _Yes, I got your number right! I'm such a ditz, I couldn't remember – oh my gosh, that's not important, not important – focus! – Yang, I don't have much time, I need to tell you – Yang, are you listening? Yang?_ "

Yang almost dropped the phone. She blinked and pinched her arm. She wasn't dreaming. She wasn't hallucinating. This was really happening.

"…Ruby?"


	5. Rose in a cage

... There they were. A small pack of Beowolves. She could see five from where she was, but there could be others hidden behind the vehicles the construction crew had left there for the night.

Keeping silent, Ruby stood up, grabbed Crescent Rose from her belt, and unfolded it. Her lips parted in a little smile. She just couldn't help it. This was what she had been born-

Behind her, an unexpected noise. Gravel. Boots. A low buzzing of electricity.

Ruby spun around and swung her scythe – only to immediately bring it to a halt, millimeters from slicing through a man's head. She dropped Crescent Rose to clutch her belly as she stumbled back, stomach turning viciously. If she hadn't stopped…

"Well, then. Hello to you too."

Ruby looked up at the man. He looked fairly ordinary, wearing a faded gray business suit and a black beret. His dark hair was turning white at the tips, and his eyes were much like Ruby's – silver, but she could see a hint of black in them.

He hadn't moved since she'd turned around, hands behind his back, eyes moving slowly from her to where her scythe lay between them. Oddly calm for someone who had nearly been beheaded seconds ago. Not once did his gaze wander to what was behind Ruby.

"Oh my gosh, I'm – I'm so sorry! I thought you were a…" Ruby was about to say Grimm, but that didn't really make sense now that she thought about it, since what she had heard were clearly human footsteps.

She was very glad that thought had stopped her long enough for her to realize mentioning Grimm to a complete stranger was not a very bright idea, seeing as how they were creatures of nightmare from another dimension and Beacon's biggest and most dangerous secret.

Yes, she should watch her mouth.

"Uhm… N-never mind that, mister! I just got a little spooked is all!" Ruby said, trying to salvage the situation as best she could. She stood at the tip of her toes and spread out her arms, hoping her cape would block the man from seeing the Grimm. Her cheeks burned with embarrassment, but what other options did she have? "W-what are you doing over here anyway? I mean… Are you lost, maybe?"

"No, I don't think so," the stranger said. "Are you? You look awfully young to be out so late by yourself…" his gaze returned to Crescent Rose briefly. "…and carrying things like that."

"Oh, that's my… school project. I was… testing it out around here, actually," Ruby gulped. She looked around at the darkness, and suddenly an idea popped inside her head. "Y-you know, maybe you're right, mister. I should be back home by now. But it's so dark… I don't think I can find my way to town. Could you help me, please?"

She was glad it was dark, or else the stranger would surely have seen how she was smirking at her own genius. But as the seconds ticked by and the man just stood there, staring at her, her glee faded. Suddenly, she was feeling very nervous, though she couldn't quite tell why…

And then she felt a coldness stab through the back of her neck, and she instinctively knew what was wrong.

"I'm afraid you won't be receiving any help from me," the stranger said, and the Grimm fell upon her.

Ruby made to grab Crescent Rose, but a Beowolf crashed into her, dragging her onto the ground and away from her weapon. She rolled over and raised her hands, holding the creature back by its snout, stopping it from crunching down on her face. The effort made her arms tremble. A drop of something viscous landed on her forehead.

Summoning even more of her strength, Ruby managed to shove the Grimm away from her. She got on one knee and shot up with her Semblance, hitting the beast's chest with the whole of her body. It was sent flying away, stopping only once it crashed against an excavation drill.

She had no time to rest as the other Grimm converged on her from all sides. Panicking, Ruby stuck out her hand, smacking one of them on its snout, then jumped over it, kicking against its head to boost herself further away.

Ruby landed beside Crescent Rose and picked it up, but it almost fell out of her grasp. The hand she had punched the Grimm with was stinging like crazy. She rolled her eyes, blaming only herself for having such a stupid idea as to _punch a Grimm_.

Ignoring the pain, Ruby took her weapon in both hands and waited for the Beowolves as they ran back at her. Just as they were about to strike, she slid forward with her Semblance and brought up Crescent Rose in a fluid movement. One of the Grimm collapsed in two pieces and turned to smoke.

Taking the initiative, Ruby rocketed back, spinning. All that was visible of her was the red blur of her cape, and the moonlight that reflected off her scythe's blade in its endless motions. Rose petals floated in the air and came to rest on the gravel beneath.

Just as quickly as it had begun, it ended. Ruby stopped, pushing the sharp end of Crescent Rose on the ground so she could lean on it and catch her breath. The smoke of the Grimm rose around her and dissipated. A moment later, Ruby raised her head again.

The stranger was still standing there, but something was different now. There was a gleam in his eyes, and not a good one. Ruby's fingers closed around her scythe. They stared at each other for a long time, Ruby feeling as if he were stabbing her, so sharp he glared at her.

Finally, he spoke. "I'm not surprised. A man does not witness the same event ten times and expects the eleventh to go different," he paused, smacking his lips in disgust. "Still I am just as abhorred."

Ruby blinked, caught off-guard by his statement. Had seeing the Grimm shaken the man so much? She wished she knew how to deal with this. Surely Beacon had some sort of standard procedure for situations like this… but if that was the case, Commander Goodwitch had yet to tell her about it.

"Uhm… Mister," Ruby said, using her sweetest voice. Maybe that would calm him down. "I know what you just saw was very disturbing, but I promise it's over. You don't have to worry, okay?"

She folded Crescent Rose, then approached the man with her free hand raised amicably. He remained like a statue, and his glare seemed to get even nastier the closer she got. Ruby shuddered.

"Listen, mister… I'll help you get back home, okay?" Ruby said in a small voice, growing desperate. She dropped Crescent Rose, then took out her phone and turned it on. "I-I have someone who can help, her name's Glynda and she's my supervisor and she's super nice even though sometimes she can be really strict but I know she means well and-"

She heard the crackle of electricity, then shrieked as what felt like a lightning bolt coursed through her body, starting from her belly, to her head, then down to her feet. Ruby fell to her knees, gasping. The world was spinning and swerving…

She looked up and saw the stranger staring down at her with a snarl on his face. In his left hand, he held an electric baton, but it was no ordinary one. It glowed a bright blue, and multiple sparks bounced off its surface at all times. One touch of that, Ruby thought, would have killed a regular person.

"You heathen. You _devil_ ," his voice trembled with hatred. "Yes, you have done unspeakable things, and for such you shall pay. But death if far too kind a punishment… no, you shall serve a greater purpose," he grinned. "You will erase all sins, including your own."

"W-what…?"

He brought the baton down on her, and this time the lightning surged not for a split second, but far longer, so long it still rumbled inside her as she fell and the world became black.

* * *

Her head was throbbing when Ruby woke up. She didn't open her eyes at first, afraid that the pain might get even worse if she did. She lifted an arm feebly and rubbed her forehead, but that did nothing to alleviate it. Groaning, she let her arm fall.

After a moment's hesitation, she opened her eyes. To her relief, the pain didn't get any worse. Unfortunately, that was only because she was immersed in utter darkness. No matter which direction she turned her head, she couldn't see anything.

She had awoken in a sitting position against a wall, and now that she was more awake, she realized it was shaking. She could faintly hear the noise of tires screeching against dirt and rocks shattering under them. Was she inside of a truck? That was the only thought that made sense to her.

Ruby swallowed dry, and in doing so realized there was something around her neck. She raised her hand and ran it against the object. It felt like a collar, and it was cold to the touch, like metal. She wrapped her hand around it and tried to yank it off, but it didn't budge.

Before she knew it, she had drawn up her knees and hugged them with both arms. She pressed her forehead against them, eyes wide with panic. What was happening? Where was she being taken? Why had she been attacked like that?

For minutes, she stayed like that, running hundreds of scenarios through her head, none of which ended well for her. She was alone, weaponless, and hurt. She wasn't going to make it.

She felt tears sting her eyes, and suddenly, her fear vanished. She was Ruby Rose, the Red Bolt, superheroine and agent of Beacon. She had slain hundreds of Grimm and not batted an eye. She was _not_ helpless, and she was _not_ going to cry and wait for her fate to come.

Gathering her strength, Ruby stood up. She felt the walls with her hands until she could orient herself towards what she assumed to be the back of the truck. She had dropped Crescent Rose and her phone back at the construction site, but she still had her Semblance. She would have more than enough speed to slam the backdoors open and make it out. Her Aura was weak, so it would hurt, but that was a small price to pay for her freedom.

She leaned forward, raising the back of her feet off the floor, then shot forward. The instant she activated her Semblance, the collar made a beeping noise and electric sparks sparked out of it. Ruby crashed to the floor, unable to control her arms and legs as they spasmed violently. She grinded her teeth together and doubled over, feeling the electricity course through her body relentlessly.

It took a long time until the pain passed, and when it did, she was left even more drained than before, to the point where she couldn't move at all. Frustrated, Ruby looked down at herself. What was wrong with her? Her Aura was supposed to protect her, but she had gone down so easily it was almost pathetic, now and before. And with her so weak, there was no chance of her escaping anymore…

For now, at least. Ruby closed her eyes and rested her head against the floor of the truck, but she stayed awake and aware.

* * *

She hadn't been counting the time, but she was sure half a day at least had passed until something changed. The screeching of the tires was louder for a moment, then faded as the truck came to a halt. Ruby heard a door open and slam closed, then boots outside.

Without warning, the back of the truck was opened, and sunlight poured in, nearly blinding her. Ruby raised her hands in front of her face to block the light until her eyes were accustomed to it. When she lowered them and looked, she saw the blue skies, impossibly high trees, and soft soil. Closer to the truck was a small group of people in dark robes.

Ruby stood and slowly backed away, closing her fists. She didn't like the way those people were staring at her and whispering to each other. If it weren't for the collar, she would have run right then and there.

"Shepherd," one of the robed ones, a woman, whispered urgently. "We believed you would be guiding more Black Ones to us. But this, oh Shepherd…"

"This is a but a girl! A human girl!" a robed man hissed. "And she's one of _them_. A slayer. We can all feel it."

"How could you bring her here?" the woman joined him in his fervor. "We must dispose of her now, before she can spread her sins!"

"Silence," the stranger from the construction site appeared, still in his business suit. At his word, the robed ones stopped speaking immediately and bowed their heads. "I am aware of the nature of this girl, if she can be called that. I witnessed her butchery with my own eyes. As such, I know very well what she is capable of."

He stepped onto the truck and looked at Ruby disdainfully. She held his gaze unflinchingly. She had mistaken him for a common civilian before, but now she knew he was anything but. She wouldn't underestimate him again.

"Do not fret, brothers and sisters," the Shepherd turned to face the others. "She will pay in blood. Now, take her to the cells, and be cautious. She's a treacherous one."

He stepped off and walked away, followed by a majority of the robed people. Only four remained, staring at her without saying a word. A shiver ran down Ruby's back. They were so still, it was starting to freak her out. Deciding to make the first move, Ruby stepped out of the truck.

Her feet had barely touched the ground, and two of the robed had moved to either side of her to grab her arms, while another went behind her and took hold of her wrists, pressing them together. The last one moved to stand in front of her and drew a dagger from his sleeve.

"One step out of line, heathen," he said. "And your blood will paint the stones."

Ruby made a squeaky noise, then nodded repeatedly. "Yep. Alright. Got it," she balked as the man lifted his dagger closer to her chin. "I… really like your robe."

The man's eyes straightened suspiciously. Ruby smiled at him. He humphed and turned, then started walking.

The other robed ones pushed Ruby along, skirting around the truck. Now that she had a wider field of view, Ruby could make more sense of where she was. The trees she had seen were at different ground levels, descending on what appeared to be the side of a mountain. That was why she had thought they were so tall – she had been looking only at the top of them.

So, they were high on a mountain. Useful information. She didn't have time to gather much more, as her escorts quickly caught on to what she was doing and forced her to look ahead.

They went through a big hole on the mountain. Light quickly became scarce. The robed in front produced a flashlight from his other sleeve – what a useful outfit! – and used it to illuminate the path ahead. The walls around them narrowed into a tunnel which rang with the echoes of their steps. Ruby drew in her breath shakily, and even that sound carried far.

The further they got into the tunnel, the more Ruby wanted to break out and make a desperate escape, but the more rational side of her knew that would be foolish. She could try not using her Semblance, but then she was just a regular fifteen-year-old, facing four adults that stood well past her head, one of them with a sharp weapon.

No. This was like the advice uncle Qrow had given her that one time. _Sometimes, you gotta stand up for yourself, but most of the time you gotta sit quiet, 'cause you're screwed_. Not the most sensible thing to say to a child, but Ruby could see the wisdom in it now and she was going to stick to it.

After a few minutes, Ruby noticed the tunnel was starting to widen, and that there was light coming from up ahead. The robed with the dagger turned off his flashlight, just as they exited the tunnel and came into a huge open area. Ruby looked up and realized the light was coming from a hole far above them. She could only guess that was the very top of the mountain.

The man behind her kneed her, forcing her to move again. Ruby pouted, and was about to say something in protest, but instead a meek squeal exited her lips when she noticed that there were dozens, maybe _hundreds_ of Grimm all around them, some on the ground, others perched along the rocky walls. They were quiet until Ruby began to look at them.

"Behold," the robed woman on her left said. "The Black Ones recognize a devil in their lair."

"Her presence offends them," the leading one spoke, his words dripping with venom. "It would be well to release her to their judgement."

"You would defy the Shepherd's guidance? He has plans for her."

"No. Of course not. But the sooner she is gone, the better."

Ruby blinked. "Oh boy, you sure are a cheerful bunch."

The man with the dagger spun around. "Silence!" He shouted. His face was warped with rage. "Do not speak again! Even the Shepherd's words won't protect you then!"

Ruby looked above him and saw a trio of Griffons flying in place, their claws primed and red eyes fixed on her. She bowed her head, taking the man's words to heart. He shook his head angrily, then lead the way forward.

They crossed a straight line through the middle of the area. As they walked, Grimm came close, sniffing and staring at them, particularly Ruby, but they didn't attack. Ruby's heart was racing as fast as when she used her Semblance.

Much to her relief, they entered another tunnel, this one taking a steep turn downwards. The flashlight was brought out once again, but even then, Ruby found it difficult to make out her surroundings. They took a turn left, then right, then another turn, and many more. Soon, Ruby was completely lost. She had no hope of remembering the way back.

Eventually they reached another open area, though this one was severely smaller, its ceiling being just a meter or so above Ruby's head. There was a lamp on the wall, but it did little to illuminate the room. On the opposite side from where they entered was another tunnel, and to the right was a steel cage embedded on the wall.

The robed ones started guiding her to the cage. "Oh. Come on, guys. Let's all stop to think for a minute!" Ruby pleaded. "I feel like we built a very strong friendship just now. Right? Don't you agree? You don't need to _cage_ me, I can… uh… sit on a corner. Quietly," she gulped. "By myself."

They opened the door and threw her inside. Ruby jumped to her feet, but the door was already closed and locked by then. The robed ones gave her a final nasty look, then left by the tunnel they had come from… except the one with the dagger. He stayed a while longer, with a grin on his lips.

"You'll be staying there for a while, heathen. You'll have plenty of time to reflect on your pathetic existence… but, then again, I believe you aren't capable of that, now are you?" he cackled shortly. "And don't you think of escaping. You can't leave this cage. And even if you could, your watcher won't let you get far."

He pointed to a wall behind him. Ruby tilted her head confusedly. It was just a wall. Okay, she knew these people were all crazy, but this was a little too-

"Ooooh," she blurted out, putting her palm to her heart. The man wasn't pointing at the wall. He was pointing at the rocks in front of it, which were the same gray color. They piled one above the other, forming a bulky mass, until two meters above the floor, where they also went to the right and left and hovered there, connected to each other.

Legs. Arms. A head with one evil red eye. She was staring at a Grimm made of rock. A Golem.

"H-hi," she waved meekly. "Friend."

"Don't you dare-" the robed man cut himself shot, glancing at the Golem, which had turned to look at him. He bowed to it. "Forgive me, Black One. I shall leave you undisturbed."

He glanced at Ruby, then strut away quickly. Ruby looked at the Golem, and it looked at her. Gulping nervously, she sat down and wrapped her cape around herself.

She didn't like this place at all.

* * *

She spent the first day after her imprisonment mulling over an escape plan. She had one in mind, a very clear one, but she was hesitant to put it in action.

Ruby knew using her Semblance would hurt a lot, but she knew it wouldn't last forever. She didn't need it to make it out of the mountain, she only needed it to get out of the cage. The door would not hold if she crashed against it.

The problem was, she would very likely be incapacitated for a while after that, and then there would be nothing between her and the Golem. She shuddered thinking about how vulnerable she would be then.

But maybe the pain would be more bearable now that she knew to expect it. Maybe she would be able to hold it together and run before the Golem could get her.

She started a few times, but she only got so far as standing up and getting into position. She never took the next step. Every time she tried, she would look at the Golem and back out.

It was too risky. There had to be a smarter way to escape.

* * *

She spent the second day much like the first, almost executing the plan, then backing out, again and again. With every attempt, she became a little more ashamed, and a little bolder.

A robed woman appeared and handed her an apple and a bottle of water.

"Uh, do you mind answering a question?" Ruby said after drinking half the bottle. "What are you guys doing here? Do you… live with those Grimm?"

The woman snatched the bottle from her and left just as suddenly as she had appeared.

* * *

On the third day, Ruby actually tried.

She distanced herself as far as she could from the door, almost touching the wall behind her, then rocketed forward.

She lost control of her body, but still felt herself hit the door and knock it off its hinges. She fell on the ground in front of the cage and started to get up, but a shock traveled through her and she fell back down.

The Golem looked down at her and raised a stony arm.

* * *

She woke up on the fourth day with a ringing headache. The door of the cage had been fixed, or maybe it was a new one.

The man with the dagger was sitting on a chair on the other side of the steel bars. "Tried to escape, didn't you? I knew you would. It's in your devilish nature," he said. "You're lucky the Black One spared your life. It knows you have a larger fate to fulfill."

He cackled, threw a couple more taunts and insults her way, then left.

Ruby looked at the Golem. It had… spared her? Did it have a… conscience?

* * *

On the fifth day, she was too angry to make a new plan.

A conscience? What had she been thinking?! Grimm were monsters, and nothing else. She had forgotten that because she had been in pain and confused.

She would never make that mistake again.

* * *

On the sixth day, Ruby made and discarded a lot of plans. Half of them were too daring. The other half consisted of plans either too outlandish, or simply ineffective.

When she was too frustrated to make plans anymore, she started to think about the people holding her. They were creepy, like those silly characters in some of the horror movies she would watch. Crazy cultists who worshipped monsters. Except now that she was their victim in real life, she didn't find them silly at all.

What was this big plan the Shepherd had for her? She was supposed to _erase all sins_ by _paying in blood_.

She stopped thinking about it.

* * *

On the seventh day, she came up with a plan she thought might work.

Her Semblance was… weird. Whenever someone asked about it, she said she could run at superspeed, but that was an oversimplification. The truth was, Ruby didn't _run_. It was something else she did, something she didn't quite understand. It felt natural in the moment, but she could never remember it after. It was a mystery - even before she started to think about the weird rose petals.

But it being a mystery did not mean she was worried about it. Just the contrary. She was glad she didn't fully understand her Semblance, because it meant there was always something new to discover. Something that could, if she was lucky, help her out when she needed it most.

The electric collar the Shepherd had put on her was somehow able to detect when she activated her Semblance and shock her, forcing her to stop using it. Her two experiences with it were enough to make that certain. But maybe she could fool it somehow, by using her Semblance in a smaller way.

Ruby had never tried anything like that. When she used her Semblance, she _used_ it. It encompassed all she was. She couldn't imagine how it would feel to use it in portions – it sounded as strange to her as breathing with only one lung would be to any regular person.

Nevertheless, she wasn't about to not try just because it sounded weird and uncomfortable. If it meant escaping, she would even eat her own fingers! …Okay, nothing _that_ extreme, but she was determined.

She moved to stand in front of the door and cast a look at the Golem. It had hunched a little closer, as if it knew she was up to something. Ruby shook her head and looked down at her right hand.

"Uuf… alright, let's do this," she whispered, psyching herself up. She closed her eyes and concentrated, reaching for that little part of her mind that activated her Semblance. It had become second nature fast after she had unlocked it, so going back to doing it manually – for a lack of a better word – was still an unfamiliar sensation to her.

Soon, she felt a burst of energy surge through her body. She leaned forward, preparing to run, but then remembered that wasn't the plan and stepped back, letting go of the power. It was good she corrected herself so fast. The collar had beeped once – an instant later, and she would have been shocked.

"Pace yourself. Pace yourself," Ruby said. Funny. That was what her father was always telling her. "Just a little…"

She activated her Semblance again, and this time didn't move a muscle. The collar didn't bleep. She raised her right arm in an excruciatingly slow movement, having to fight her instinct to do the opposite. Carefully, she formed a fist.

"Ruby Punch!" she yelled, thrusting her hand forward.

She fell to the floor before she could connect with the door. The shock was even worse than the others, leaving her unable to move, see, or think.

Hours later, she found the strength to curl up into a ball and slipped into unconsciousness.

* * *

She woke up on the eighth day with a smile on her lips. She had had a dream. A sweet dream. Her father had been in it, and Yang, and uncle Qrow, and Miss Goodwitch…

When she opened her eyes, Ruby realized she was in still in the cage. The Golem was still watching her. Her body still ached from the shock.

Biting her lip, she closed her eyes and tried to fall asleep again.

* * *

On the ninth day, she sat uselessly against the wall, staring at the steel bars and the Golem on the other side. Not one idea for an escape came to mind.

* * *

Surely, they were looking for her. They had to be. She wasn't just an agent of Beacon, she was special. Commander Glynda Goodwitch herself had recruited her. Director Ozpin had taken a profound interest in her! She was new to the organization, but she was important.

They would find her and rescue her. That hope was what allowed her to endure the tenth day.

* * *

On the eleventh day, she forgot she was Ruby Rose, the Red Bolt, superheroine and agent of Beacon.

* * *

On the twelfth day, the sound of footsteps brought her out of her stupor. Ruby looked up and saw the Shepherd standing outside. He was wearing a robe now, but his has red markings around its sleeves, distinguishing it from those of his fellow men and women.

He met her gaze with the same contempt as ever. Her eyes went back to her lap. Not fleetingly, not out of fear. Slowly. Apathetically.

"How surprising," he said. "I must admit, I did not expect to find you like this. I believed it would take far more to break an ungodly slayer," he paused. "I see now that I gave you more credit than you deserve. You are pathetic."

Ruby didn't reply. She barely took in his words.

"I should be delighted, but… I am worried now," the Shepherd said. "You would be the last offering, the sacrifice that would finally bring forth the Darkness. But in this state… you might not be able to fulfill your role."

He paused, waiting for her to say something. When she didn't, he turned and started walking to the left tunnel.

"Regardless. Preparations for the ritual are nearly finished. If you prove insufficient, we will find another sacrifice. And if that is not enough, another more will come," he said. "We have been building towards this for years. We can wait."

He stepped into the tunnel.

"Wait," Ruby raised her head. "…The Darkness?"

The Shepherd turned to look at her, wearing an unpleasant smile. "So, you are not completely lost," he said. "Yes, the Darkness. The time when the Black One's wait will come to an end. They will set out of this mountain and cleanse the world of all human sin."

"You mean…" Ruby's voice faltered. She knew exactly what he meant, and had no reason to think he was lying. "But you're human too."

"We are the Black Ones' loyal servants. We have guided them away from humanity's viciousness, so they could eventually carry out their divine purpose. We will continue to help them, until our time comes. Then we too shall suffer their judgement."

"That's crazy," Ruby said. "You're crazy."

The Shepherd didn't seem to care about she thought, as he turned his back to her and left for good.

Ruby sat in her cage, staring at nothing in particular. What the Shepherd said couldn't be true. He might believe it, but that didn't make it true. Sacrifices and sins and judgment… That was nonsense. Grimm weren't divine punishers, they were just monsters.

But that didn't matter. It didn't matter what the Shepherd and his cultists thought the Grimm were. It didn't matter if they thought she was some kind of devil. It didn't even matter if they wanted to sacrifice her.

All that mattered was that a bunch of crazy people were planning to set loose a mountain full of Grimm upon the world, and she couldn't do anything about it because she was still trapped inside their stupid cage!

Ruby jumped to her feet and glared at the steel bars, thinking furiously. She kicked the door, producing a resounding echo, then set about pacing inside the cage.

Outside, the Golem came a bit closer. It had drawn its arms closer to its body, and its head had lowered. Its eye was focused intently on her. He could sense she was agitated – which wasn't that grand of a feat, but considering he had been content to just stare at her for twelve days straight, this was very much a change.

Ruby stopped. She looked at the Golem.

_Yes_.

"Hey!" she kicked the cage again. "Hey, you pile of rocks! Yeah, I'm talking to you!" she yelled. The Golem's rocks pressed closer together and began to spin. "You're ugly! Yeah, I said it! Your rocks don't even match! They're all pointy and deformed and no lady Golem would ever ask you out on a date!"

The Golem moved forward surprisingly fast for its size and slammed its arms against the cage. The steels bars bent inward, and the edge of the roof caved down slightly. Ruby slid back, keeping on her toes.

"Hah! You can't get me from there, stupid! You aren't just ugly, you're also as dumb as a rock!"

The Golem struck again, and the bars bent even more. A screeching noise came from the door right before it flew off its hinges and hit the opposite wall. Thinking fast, Ruby got out and ran towards the left tunnel.

Before she could get there, the Golem jumped over her and blocked the way. It raised an arm, then brought it down on her. Ruby dove to the side, barely avoiding being squished into a puddle of teenage girl. She jumped back, wondering how she was going to get past the Grimm without using her Semblance.

"Okay," she breathed in and out quickly. "Think smart. Think smart!" She blinked, then ran straight at the Golem, screaming at the top of her lungs. It brought both of its arms down, but Ruby dove again, this time forward. She rolled on the ground, passing between the Golem's legs, and got up again.

She didn't congratulate herself, both because she knew she had been extraordinarily lucky and because she had no time to. She ran as fast as she could without activating her Semblance. The Golem turned and followed her, its footsteps producing a frightening noise. The ceiling and walls shook dangerously and dust fell on Ruby's face.

The tunnel grew smaller. Soon, Ruby stopped hearing the steps. She turned around to look and bent down just in time to avoid being hit by a boulder. The Golem glared at her, too big to keep chasing her. His right arm was missing one rock at its end.

"Well now, don't you regret tossing away your hand?" Ruby muttered. She stuck her tongue out, then ran away before the Grimm could start throwing more projectiles at her.

Now that the Grimm wasn't chasing her with its big, glowing red eye, she couldn't see anything at all, so dark the tunnel was. She felt the walls with her hands, moving forward carefully. Eventually, her hand passed through open air. She had arrived at a branching point.

Ruby mumbled angrily under her breath. She hadn't been able to memorize the path before. Even if she had, she doubted she would have remembered after being caged for more than a week. How was she going to find her way like this?

There was no point in going slow. That would only leave more time for the cultists to notice she had escaped her cage and come looking for her. She would have to move fast and hope she got lucky.

For a time she couldn't count, she wandered around blindly, waving her hands about to make sure she didn't clash face-first into a wall. It was unnerving, being alone in the dark, with the only noises being those of her own moving and breathing, and the occasional cries of distant Grimm.

One time, she saw a faint light in the distance and nearly yelled, so happy she was. Only when she moved towards it did she notice it had a red tint. It was the Golem, still standing at the point she had lost it, staring right at her. Shuddering, she turned right around and ran.

Her biggest fear was that she would come across one of the cultists, especially the Shepherd. If that happened, she doubted they would cage her again. They would likely advance her sacrifice, and she would much prefer that not to happen.

Ruby was beginning to think she would never make it out of the tunnels when finally, she saw light coming from up ahead. She stopped for a moment to make sure it wasn't red, then went on, sticking close to the wall on her left. She reached the end of the tunnel and stuck her head out into the large area from before. The Grimm were still swarming about, and there were many cultists talking and seeing about important-looking tasks, such as cleaning disturbingly-red knives and arranging piles of bone by size and type. The tunnel that lead outside was on the other side.

Alright. This was probably the riskiest part. There was no way she was going to sneak past all those people and Grimm. She couldn't use her Semblance. Just like with the Golem, she could only rely on one thing: dumb luck.

Ruby took a deep breath, then sprinted across the place, her cape billowing behind her. She got halfway there before she was noticed by the Grimm. Dozens of screeches, roars and hisses rose at the same time, and those warned the cultists nearby. Suddenly, Ruby had a mixed group of robed people and bloodthirsty monsters chasing at her heel.

A Griffon swopped down from behind, nearly taking her head. A baby Taijitu burst from the ground in front of her, but she jumped over it and kept going. A knife hit her in the back of her shoulder, but it didn't penetrate her Aura and bounced to the floor harmlessly.

She reached the tunnel. It sloped upwards sharply, making the climb difficult, but she didn't let that slow her down. Light ceased, rendering her blind. She crashed against a pair of cultists that were on their way down, shoving them aside. Then she saw light again.

She was outside. Ruby paused, allowing herself to feel the fresh night air. The wind was blowing softly. The mountain was silent…

Until the cultists and Grimm came out of the tunnel behind her. Ruby jumped away, looking around for an escape route. To the right was a rocky path that snaked its way down to the base of the mountain, maybe a kilometer or more below. To the left was an impassable wall. And in front of her, the mountainside, which, despite having plenty of trees along it, was frighteningly steep.

Ruby spun around to face her captors, backing away slowly until her feet hit the edge of the mountain. The Grimm surrounded her from the ground and the air. The cultists moved aside, making way for the Shepherd, who looked positively livid.

"Devil! You cannot escape your fate!" he shouted. "You only make it worse for yourself. Cease your vileness now, and your demise shall be kinder than it ought to be!"

"Uuh…" Ruby looked up thoughtfully. "Yeah, no. Gonna pass on that. Bye!"

She activated her Semblance and stepped off the mountain, then kicked against the rocks and went soaring through the air. The collar went off, electrifying her mercilessly. She almost appreciated it, as it somewhat numbed the pain of the fall. Ruby rolled down the mountainside, feeling her Aura draining quickly by the second.

It didn't deplete completely. Just as it was about to, she reached even ground and came to a halt on an asphalted road. Ruby rolled on her back and spread her arms and legs out, breathing hard.

She didn't stay like that for long. She knew the cultists were already making their way down the mountain. Her only advantage was that they had to take a proper path, unlike her. She stood up, looked around, then started walking with a slight limp.

* * *

As luck would have it, there was a town not far away from where she had fallen. _Amesburg_. Ruby kept repeating that name at the back of her mind while she made her way through the town. A couple locals out late – or early, she guessed - looked at her as if she were an alien, which she supposed was fair. Her uniform was weird, and it was tattered and beaten to boot.

Ruby gave them no mind. She needed to find a phone so she could contact Beacon and get them here _now_. Not only because she was in danger of being recaptured, but mainly because she wanted to see those lunatics get what they deserved. She was lucky to get out alive, but there had been other people before her…

She mumbled a short happy tune when she spotted a telephone booth at the corner of a street. Ruby hurried there and searched herself for coins. After a few seconds, she realized it might be a reasonable occasion for a collect call.

She began to type, only to realize she didn't remember Commander Goodwitch's number. Actually, now that she thought about it, she wasn't sure she had ever known it in the first place. Panicking, Ruby called the first person that came to mind.

The phone rang. And rang. And rang. It had been more than a minute, and it was still ringing. If she were in a better state of mind, Ruby would have given up and called someone else – Dad, probably.

" _Hello?_ "

"Yang!" Ruby exclaimed in relief. "Is that you?" she shook her head. "Yes, I got your number right! I'm such a ditz, I can't remember – ohmygosh, that's not important, not important – focus!" she kicked the booth, then held back a yell when her foot hurt. "Yang, I don't have much time. I need to tell you – Yang, are you listening? Yang?"

Oh, God. Maybe she _had_ gotten the number wrong and she had just bombarded an innocent stranger with… herself! It was so embarrassing, she didn't know what to-

" _Ruby?_ " Yang's voice came again. She sounded tired, but also… happy?

"Yes! It's me!" Ruby clutched her chest, holding back a sob. "I'm so glad to talk to you. Yang, you don't know what – gah, focus!" she kicked again, and this time actually yelled. "Sorry about that. Yang, I need you to get in contact with Beacon, or Dad, he'll know what to do. I'm in trouble. Like, mega-trouble. Like, there's a bunch of creepy cultists who want to sacrifice me to bring about the end of humanity, trouble."

" _What?!_ " Yang shouted. " _Ruby! What do you mean they want to sacrifice-_ "

"Not now! Later!" Ruby jumped up and down anxiously. "Amesburg. That's where I'm at. I'll try to hang around here, but they're after me. Get Beacon!"

" _Ruby, wait!_ "

Ruby dropped the phone and ran from the booth. She looked back towards where the lair on the mountain was and saw the twin lights of a vehicles racing down to the road. Ruby ran between two houses and sat down to catch her breath.

Okay. Now, she only had to evade being captured again. For hours. Maybe a day, for all she knew.

"Eh," she said. She had gone through a lot worse already.


	6. Promise

Yang had never run so fast before in her life. It was a pretty bad idea, what with her body still hurting from the crash _and_ the fight at the bar, and she knew it. But she didn't care in the least. Ruby's words were on a loop inside her head – something about contacting Beacon and creepy cultists and _sacrifices_ …

Ruby was in trouble. She needed help.

Yang reached the edge of town and kept going, sticking to the left of the road, where Qrow had parked the plane. She didn't remember exactly where, though, and she couldn't see it right now, as it was, well, invisible.

"Uncle Qrow!" she called, but her voice was hoarse. Yang coughed and rubbed her throat. "Damnit…"

She slowed down to a halt and looked around more calmly, even as every part of her screamed for her to keep running and _find Ruby_. That wouldn't help, though. She needed to clear her mind and act rationally, or else something bad would happen to her and _then_ she would be of no help to Ruby.

She walked alongside the road for a while, straining her eyes for any signs of the Quinjet, but the scenery was as normal as could be with its grassy soil and trees. At least it wasn't completely dark anymore. The sun was coming up on the east horizon.

Yang wondered if Qrow had ever lost the Quinjet before. And then she wondered if she had lost _him_ , if he had abandoned her. She had sort of encouraged him, after all. She was still angry with him, but now she regretted lashing out like that. They should have been focusing on the job, on Ruby, and not screaming at each other.

"Family. Ugh," Yang ran a hand up her forehead and through her hair, and in that moment, something caught her eye. Just a little distance away from the road, a section of the grass was pressed sideways against the ground, as if something big was there – except there was nothing – except there was something.

Yang walked up to the area and reached carefully with her hand. Her fingers hit something metallic. She grasped it, then kicked with her right leg, producing a resounding noise. "Hey! Open up, old man!"

A few seconds passed, then the Quinjet's cloaking deactivated, and the hangar opened. Qrow looked down at her, not as pale as before, but still looking a little shaky. "I'm not old, you infant."

Yang ran inside and shook him by the shoulders. "I know where Ruby is. We need to help her," she said, then let go and walked to the cockpit. "Come on, she can't be far."

"Wait, what? How do you know where she is?" Qrow followed her, looking baffled. "You haven't been drinking, have you? Because if you have, I'm making it clear right now that I had no influence in anything that led to such bad life choices."

"No, I haven't been drinking!" Yang kicked him in the shin, and he hobbled over to the pilot's seat. "Ruby called my cellphone. She said she was in trouble and that she was in… Anesburg, I think."

"Amesburg. That _is_ close," Qrow sat down and closed the hangar, then initiated take-off. He tapped on the control panel, pulling up a map. "What sort of trouble?"

"I think we were right about those weird cultists being involved in her disappearance," Yang said, sitting down. "She sounded like she was being chased."

"Doesn't she have superspeed?" Qrow noted dubiously.

"Well, I think she would have used it if she could, uncle," Yang made to glare at him, but her face twisted into a grimace instead. Now that she was sitting down and the urgency of the situation was not on her shoulders alone, the pain was catching up to her. She leaned her head back and rubbed her forehead.

Qrow looked at her worriedly, then set the plane on autopilot and headed to the back. He returned with a first-aid package, from which he took a roll of bandage and a bottle of alcohol. "You got into a fight."

"Junior. He had a baseball bat and he caught me off-guard," Yang said grudgingly. He started bringing the bandage towards her head, but she pushed his hands away. "I don't need help."

"Oh, quit it with the tough act. I changed your diapers, you twerp," Qrow paused. "Alright, that's not true, but the sentiment is," he pointed a finger at her injury. The blood had stopped dripping, so she assumed it was healing already, but it still hurt. "I told you you're not invincible, but you set out to prove me wrong anyway. Now look who's laughing. _Hah_!"

Yang wanted to protest, wanted to bring up their argument and how he wanted her out of the mission, but frankly, she was too tired to care anymore. She leaned forward a little and nodded drowsily. Qrow took it as her giving up finally and started wrapping the bandage around her head.

Yang closed her eyes.

"Hey, kid."

Yang glared at him. "Oh my God. _What_?"

"Did you mean all that?" he asked, not stopping what he was doing. "Do you feel like I wasn't there for you enough?"

"What? No. That's not…" Yang blurted out. She hadn't expected that at all. If anything, she thought Qrow would be hoping she would forget about what had happened. "I don't…"

"No. I get it," Qrow said. "I'm the cool uncle, but sometimes you need more from me. And there's nothing wrong with that. You deserve more," he finished wrapping the bandage and opened the bottle of alcohol. "I wish I could, Yang. I wish I could."

He pulled back the bandage near the injury and poured in a drip from the bottle. Yang hissed and slapped his wrist.

"Sorry. I'm bad with this stuff," Qrow smiled humorlessly. "Way things tend to go with me, I either get out scot-free, or I end up in a hospital bed. Not much in-between."

"You're weird, uncle," Yang muttered. "Like, seriously weird."

"That's nice," he put back the bandage and bottle and closed the package, then stood up and patted her in the head. "Don't let the bedbugs bite."

"I'm not sleeping!" Yang exclaimed vehemently.

Qrow gave her a look that argued just the contrary. Yang huffed, sinking in her seat. Her eyelids were feeling heavy. It was getting difficult to hold her head straight. The noise of the Quinjet soaring through the sky got duller and duller...

Ruby... Needed to get to Ruby…

* * *

  _"Ruby?_ "

_The sun had come and gone, and she could still hear them from the other side of the door. Tiny, shallow sobs, one after the other. Shaky intakes of air. Earlier, she had heard things being broken, and when that was over, it became clear it hadn't helped at all._

_It was heartbreaking, so much that it had dulled her own pain. All that Yang could think about now was the other little girl in the house, and how_ she _was hurting._

_"Ruby, I'm coming in."_

_She opened the door and entered the room. As expected, the floor was littered with broken toys and ripped books and clothes. The bed was an absolute mess. And somewhere within those linen covers was her sister._

_Yang climbed onto the bed and felt around with her hands until they closed around an arm. She pulled down the covers and revealed a pale face and two bloodshot eyes._

_"Ruby. I'm here. It's okay."_

_"N-no! It's not okay! G-get out!"_

_"It's not okay now. But it's gonna be. I know how it hurts, but-"_

_"S-shut up! You don't know! You don't know anything! You're not… you're not…"_

_Ruby never finished. She collapsed onto Yang and buried her head on her chest, crying her eyes out. Yang bit her lip, barely holding herself together._

_"You're not alone, Ruby. Dad is still here. I'm still here," she wrapped her arms around Ruby. "I'll always be with you. Whenever you need someone to talk to, or to shout at, or… or anything… I'll be there."_

_And, just like that, it stopped. Ruby looked up, and the way her silver eyes peered into her would engraved in Yang's mind for forever._

_"…You promise?"_

* * *

 "Get up, Sleeping Beauty."

Yang woke up and immediately glared at Qrow. She rubbed her leg where he had kicked her, then stood up. She wobbled in place for a moment before regaining her balance. Her head still felt a little light, but the drowsiness was gone completely.

"We're landed near the town," Qrow said. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm good," Yang lied, walking to the back of the plane.

As the hangar lowered, Qrow joined her. "Sure, and I'm a responsible adult," he rolled his eyes. "Just try _not_ to take a baseball bat to the head this time."

"Can't promise that."

There was only one promise she was keeping today.

* * *

 Ruby dived into an alley and hid behind a trash can, just in time to avoid being seen by a passing car. The cultists were doing rounds around the town, and she had come dangerously close to being caught several times already.

She had hoped they would have thought she had run away from town, but they must have come to the same conclusion as her. On the open road, there was no way she could outrun them, much less evade their search. In the town, she at least had places she could hide in.

That wouldn't last long, though. She was one person, and they were many. She had seen at least twenty when she had made her escape from their lair, but she was sure there were a whole lot more she hadn't seen. Eventually, they would find her. It was only a matter of time.

Luckily, time was all Ruby wanted. She had gotten the message out already. The cultists' operation wouldn't be a secret for much longer, and Beacon would come down on them hard. Her survival didn't matter in the larger scale – but she would rather live, if that wasn't too much to ask.

She peeked over the trash can and saw nothing. Carefully, she stood up and looked at the rest of the street, and immediately pulled back. There were a lot of robed people walking around, searching everything in sight. Some were examining the houses and local stores, as if they were considering going inside. Ruby hoped they chose not to that, as she doubted they would be in any way polite about it.

"It'll be fine," she said, tiptoeing backwards in the alley.

She heard glass shattering, then people shouting in fear and anger.

Ruby looked up, wishing very much that she could will herself out of existence. "Why do I say things?"

She walked out into the street and shook her arms above her head. There was probably a better way to go about this, but she couldn't afford to plan ahead. She knew how crazy these cultists were. The last thing she wanted was for them to decide to make the whole town a sacrifice – because that sounded exactly like something they would do.

"Hey!" she shouted. "You're looking for a girl?!"

A few meters ahead of her, a group of cultists stood in front of a small market store. The glass on the front was laying in pieces on the ground, and the people Ruby assumed to be the owners were standing inside with panicked expressions.

"Well," Ruby gulped. She turned around stiffly and pointed. "She went that way!"

Ruby took off in that direction, and soon heard the cultists giving chase. Keeping just on the edge of activating her Semblance, Ruby turned and entered an alley, then came the other side.

Unfortunately, she immediately crashed onto another cultist, and they went rolling on the ground together, stopping in the middle of the road. Ruby jumped to her feet before him and spun around. Cultists were edging in from every direction. She had done a splendid job of drawing their attention, but somehow, she wasn't very proud of herself.

"Alright, guys. Let's all take a moment to think about the decisions that got us to this place! Remember, not all decisions are good," she said, eyes darting from one cultist to the next. "For example, I decided to run out like a freaking idiot, and look where that got me! And you guys decided to join a cult that worships extradimensional nightmare creatures. I'm not judging, but, you know," she gestured pleadingly. "We can all make up for our mistakes."

"Punishment for all heathens!" one of the cultists yelled, and they all ran at her.

"Yep, that's what I thought."

Ruby looked around, frantically trying to form a plan, but there was no time. Out of pure instinct, she threw herself towards one of the cultists, tackling him shoulder-first. The man was caught off-guard and toppled to the ground. Ruby nearly fell along with him, but managed to put a foot on the ground and get some distance away from her.

There was little hope of her getting away, though. A jeep came speeding around the street corner in front of her, bringing more cultists to block her escape. Ruby hissed in frustration.

"You guys are the worst!" she yelled. "I'm just trying to be a good influence on the world!"

"The words of the deceiver shall not be heeded!" a cultist screamed, coming to grab her.

"What does that even mean?!" Ruby swatted his hands away, stumbling backwards. Her back hit something, and suddenly there were hands on her shoulders, holding her in the place.

Ruby shrieked and kicked backwards, hitting her holder's knee, but now she was completely surrounded. She raised her hands in a fighting stance and spun around, keeping a threatening expression on her face. The cultists, however, didn't seem worried at all.

"I'm warning you," she said meekly. "I… I know kung-fu?"

* * *

 Yang walked into Amesburg, cracking her knuckles. She didn't like what she was seeing – nothing. Eerily nothing. From the corner of her vision, she saw Qrow draw his pistol and keep it waist-high.

"What do you think are the chances Ruby is doing just fine?" she asked. Maybe she was just expecting the worst. After searching hopelessly for a week, reuniting with Ruby without a problem seemed like a far shot.

"Low," Qrow said. "I don't like to deal in chances, though."

"I guess that's smart," Yang paused briefly. "So, do we just go around town looking for her? Or do you have some super high-tech locator thing?"

"What?" Qrow looked at her weirdly. "You think Beacon is from the future or something? No. We're just gonna have to be thorough. If we're lucky, she'll come to us."

Just as he said that, a jeep came around a corner and sped past them, tires screeching. Yang stumbled back, having nearly been run over. She centered herself and raised her head, and saw another jeep coming their way.

"Wait," her eyes widened. "Is that-"

Qrow pulled her away and raised his pistol, then took a shot. The bullet pierced a tire, and the jeep started to spin. It slid on the road past them, sparks flying, until it came to a complete halt. The doors opened, and robed cultists started to come out, half of them wielding firearms.

On the back, Ruby sat up after the crash, looking around confusedly. "The heck?" her eyes landed on Yang. "Oh my Gosh! You found me!"

Beside her, a pair of cultists stood up, grabbed her by the shoulders and dragged her off the jeep and away from Yang and Qrow. Her wrists were bound by rope behind her back, and there was a strange metal collar around her neck.

"Ruby!" Yang shouted, taking a step ahead, but Qrow grabbed her by the arm and stopped her.

"Don't move, you dumbass," he muttered. "You think they're just gonna let you walk up to them?"

"No. But that's not a problem," Yang tore away from his hold and marched forward.

"Yang!" Ruby yelled. "No!"

The cultists stopped backing away and started shooting. Yang raised an arm in front of her face, and the bullets bounced off it harmlessly. Her body coursed with power as her Semblance absorbed their impact. And then, when they paused to reload, she ran, eyes blazing.

She tried to get to the pair holding Ruby first, but the others covered them as they ran away. Yang kicked one cultist away, then hit another with her arm, slamming him against the fallen jeep. She grabbed another by the arm as he tried to punch her and swung him around, then threw him on the floor.

Yang slid back, raising her fists. There were still ten cultists standing in her way, but she could take care of them easily. But as she was about to go to work, she heard Qrow shout. "Yang, watch out!"

She turned around and saw another jeep coming her way. She ran to the side and threw herself to the ground just in time. The jeep spun around, and the cultists inside stuck out from its windows and started shooting at her.

Yang kneeled on the ground and turned her face away. The bullets were starting to sting a bit now. Her rest hadn't been enough to restore her Aura fully, and now she was paying for that. She wasn't sure how long she could hold out like this, but it couldn't be long. She had to do something soon…

She turned her head to look at the cultists and nearly shouted when she saw Qrow standing beside her. He had his arm in front of his face too, and though he was deflecting the bullets too, he seemed to be having a much worse time doing it.

"Uncle?" her eyes widened. "You have an Aura?"

"Yes. Congratulations, you're very perceptive," he said dryly. "Remember how that truck chase ended earlier? Pew pew, kaboom, all that bad stuff?"

"Yeah? That's what got to do with anything?"

"Just hope things turn out better this time."

Qrow lowered his arm and took his pistol in both hands, then started shooting. Every bullet he fired found its target, taking out cultists after cultist without fail. The ones that remained continued to shoot, but suddenly they seemed to be missing a whole lot more than before. In fact, Qrow didn't suffer another hit, and he was an easy target, standing tall and unmoving.

And then Qrow _did_ miss a shot. Except he didn't miss, exactly. The bullet hit the jeep near the back and pierced through. He grimaced and lowered his pistol. "Goddamnit."

A moment later, the jeep exploded, and cultists were sent flying in all directions. A smoke cloud rose high above the road, blocking Yang's vision. A charred arm landed right in front of her.

"…Well," Qrow said. "At least that doesn't belong to either one of us!" he didn't sound nearly as positive as he must have intended.

"Ruby!" Yang got up and ran, entering the smoke and flames head-first. She covered her mouth and nose with a hand, powering through, and emerged at the other side.

Ruby was there, struggling in her captors' hold. As Yang watched, she managed to kick one of them away, but immediately received retribution from the other, who hit her in the jaw with the butt of his pistol. Ruby's head snapped to the right, and she spat blood onto the road.

Yang's world turned red. Her body moved on its own as she reached Ruby and punched the cultist in the face. The effect was the same as if he had been hit by a truck. His feet left the ground and he was sent flying meters away, only to fall with a harrowing cracking noise, and he lay still.

The other cultists started to rise, and Yang started to turn – but before she could do anything, Ruby herself moved, kicking him in the chin with all her might, knocking him out cold.

Yang froze. "Wow."

Ruby spun around to face her. "Wow yourself!" she shouted. "You didn't tell me _you_ were a superhero too!"

They looked at each other, and for a moment, the world seemed to stop spinning. Ruby's shoulders and head dropped, as if exhaustion had suddenly hit her in full strength. Yang nearly collapsed. This was it. They were here. There they were. It was hard to believe.

Yang stepped forward and hugged her. Ruby buried her head in Yang's chest and sobbed.

"I'm here for you, sister."


	7. About family and piles of chips

Yang could only vaguely recall what happened next. As she held Ruby, everything changed. Her body finally gave in after days of stress – if she hadn't had to support Ruby, she herself would have collapsed. She smiled, and with was so effortless, so thoughtless, she almost cried.

 _It's over_.

Ruby was in an even worse – or rather, _better_ state, leaning heavily on Yang. She started to speak, but her words were jumbling together and her voice was too quiet. Yang couldn't make any sense of what she was saying, but she wasn't alarmed. She just thought it was funny, and laughed about it.

"Meuanieei," Ruby groaned, palming her in the forehead like a baby.

"Yep. That's what I am," Yang patted her in the head. "You just settle down, Ruby. Take a nap."

"Nuu…"

Uncle Qrow approached them, looking down resentfully at his shirt, which had been thoroughly ruined during the skirmish. He put his pistol away and looked at Ruby. "Hey, twerp," he said dryly. "You sure have a knack for getting in trouble. Lucky you have me to save you," he gestured vaguely at Yang. "And her, I guess. But she's also trouble."

"Hey!" Yang exclaimed, a little offended. Just a little. She kinda saw his point.

Ruby reached out and pressed the tip of his nose between two of her fingers. "Uncwow!"

Qrow looked down at her fingers, going cross-eyed. "Kid, you are really messed up," he sounded exasperated, but Yang knew he was just as happy as she was. He was just too cool to show it, or so he thought.

Clearly, Ruby needed rest, and so did Yang. The Quinjet seemed too small, however, and after everything they had been through, they deserved something more, so they walked back into town and found an inn.

Walking inside, they saw a young woman standing behind a counter. She looked grumpy, probably having been woken up by the chaos outside, but as soon as she saw them come in, her demeanor changed. A quiet gasp escaped her lips, and she bent her knees, as if she hoped she could hide from sight behind the counter.

"Hey," Qrow leaned on the counter. "Need a room. Now."

"Y-yes, sir," the woman grabbed a notebook and started rummaging through it, but she was going too fast to be reading properly. "W-we have rooms. L-lots of rooms. How many beds?"

Qrow looked around and made a show of counting how many they were: him, Yang, Ruby. "Three beds."

"O-okay!" she went blank and didn't speak for a moment. "We… don't have rooms with three beds. Only… only two beds…," she flinched, as if she expected him to attack her.

"Hmm. That's too bad," Qrow's eyes narrowed as he stared at her. "I'll get the girls a room, then, and you and me can share-"

Yang kicked him in the shin. "One room with two beds is fine. I'll share with my sister," she said. "…Pervert," she added under her breath, glaring at her uncle.

"Pruverv," Ruby mumbled in plain agreement.

They chose their room, and Yang dropped Ruby unceremoniously on one of the beds. Ruby curled up and fell asleep at once. Yang looked at Qrow, and he smiled at her.

With a heavy sigh, Yang laid down beside Ruby and followed her example.

* * *

 

Yang woke up much later, feeling utterly refreshed. She sat up and stretched her arms above her head, then looked around. Ruby was gone, but she could hear a shower running in the adjacent bathroom. Qrow was sitting on a chair in the corner of the room, eating a bag of chips.

"Hi," she said. Her stomach growled. "Can I have some?"

Qrow took a handful of chips and tossed it at her. Some of them peppered her straight in the face, but most just landed across the bed and on her lap. "Sure," he took another handful and, without missing a beat, stuffed all the chips in his mouth and munched on them very loudly.

"Thanks, Qrow!" Yang exclaimed cheerfully and started picking up the stray chips, forming a little pile. "More, please!"

Qrow threw two more handfuls at her, giving her enough chips to make a respectable reservoir for herself. She did it happily, too, remembering that this was just the kind of dumb stuff they would do together whenever he visited home. For the last week, she had been too worried about Ruby to enjoy that aspect of their relationship. She didn't regret that, but it was a sad thought.

A few minutes later, Ruby came out of the bathroom with a towel around her head and a fresh set of clothes on. "Heya!" she shouted eagerly, then looked at the bed and Yang's chip mount, which was now reaching her chin. "What."

"It's a pile of chips!" Yang explained.

"I know!" Ruby said. "Are you going to eat it, though?"

Yang frowned. She had forgotten about that part. "Huh," she took a few chips from the top and ate them. As she munched, she gestured at Ruby, giving her permission to join.

Ruby ate with a ravenous appetite, eliminating the pile of chips in a fraction of the time it had taken Yang to build it. Qrow looked at her in shocked amusement at first, then realization dawned on his face. He handed her the bag of chips, which was still half-full, and Ruby took it without hesitation, only pausing to thank him.

"So," Ruby said between one chip and the next. "What's up?"

"What's up?" Yang repeated. Of all the ways to start a conversation, Ruby had chosen this one. Then again, Yang couldn't think of anything better. They were in a very unusual situation, after all. "Uh…"

"I mean," Ruby lowered the bag and looked from Yang to Qrow and back to Yang. "I'm just really confused. Why are you here, Yang? And you, uncle Qrow?"

"He works for Beacon, apparently," Yang said. If they were having this talk already, she preferred pointing the spotlight at their uncle first.

"I don't work for Beacon, you brat! How many times do I have to tell you?" Qrow glowered at her. "I work _with_ Beacon."

"Oh," Ruby blinked. "Okay, then," she did a double take. "Wait, does _everyone_ in our family work or used to work for Beacon?"

" _With_ Beacon," Qrow corrected. "And, yes, pretty much. We're all a bunch of cops, spies and monster hunters."

"Monster hunters?!" Ruby jumped to her feet. "You fight Grimm too, uncle Qrow?"

"Most of the time," he said, crossing his arms smugly. "Yes, if you would ask Director Ozpin, he would say I am one of his best Grimm-slaying agents."

"Because you work for him," Yang said.

Qrow faltered. "No! That's not what I said," he didn't sound half as convincing this time. "Anyway! When you went missing and they couldn't find you for a whole week, Ozpin told me. I dropped what I was doing and took over the case immediately, of course," he paused. "I'm good at finding things. It's my specialty."

"Is it really, though?" Yang asked suspiciously. "Or are you just boasting again?"

"I don't boast," Qrow said matter-of-factly. "I remind people of what I'm good at. It's not my fault I'm so good at so many things," he grinned. "You wish you were so lucky, eh?"

Yang opened her mouth to fire back at him, but then Ruby turned to look at her, and she shrank where she sat. Ruby didn't look upset or anything like that, and Yang doubted she felt that way, but that wasn't the point. Ruby was forgiving to a fault. That didn't change the fact that Yang had lied to her.

"What about you, Yang?" Ruby asked. " _You_ don't work for Beacon too, do you?"

"No…" Yang muttered. "Qrow recruited me."

"Why, though?"

Yang looked away. The right words weren't coming to her fast enough, or at all.

"I figured whatever had happened to you, something or someone big had to be behind it," Qrow piped in helpfully. "Now, I'm good, but I don't think I'm that good. It was safer to have someone strong helping me," he paused. "And, to her credit, Yang is decently clever too, so I didn't have to herd her around like a brainless minion either."

"Strong?" Ruby smiled brilliantly. "So I didn't imagine it! Yang, you have superpowers too! You have an Aura and a Semblance and everything! Right?"

"Uh, yeah, I do," Yang said mutely.

"Oooh, that's so cool! We're, like, superpowered sisters! We need a team name!" Ruby spread her hands apart theatrically. " _Super Sisters_! Alright, basic, I know, but we can work on that!" she jumped on the bed and crawled to Yang's side. "What can you do? Do you have laser eyes? Can you _fly_?"

"I am super tough, and I grow stronger the more I'm hit," Yang explained. "Also, I can shoot fire, I think. That's still a bit of a mystery to me."

"That's. So. _Awesome_!" Ruby squealed. "We _have_ to have a Super Sisters adventure soon. And we're going on a Grimm-slaying trip together, uncle Qrow!"

Qrow shrugged. He knew there was no point in trying to refute that idea. Ruby would pester him day and night until he gave in. There was no denying her.

Yang sighed, feeling both relieved and guilty. Ruby was satisfied with what she had heard, _but_ she hadn't heard everything. She didn't know Yang had had powers years before her. Yang opened her mouth to say that, figuring it was better to get everything out now than wait and risk hurting Ruby's feelings, but Qrow started speaking before her.

"Okay. Now that you're in the know, Ruby, I want to hear what happened to you," he said, his tone going from that of the cool uncle they had known all their lives to that of a Beacon agent – an authority figure. Yang had been growing used to it over the week, but Ruby was caught completely off-guard.

"O-okay," Ruby gulped. "I, uh… I guess it started two weeks ago… I was on a mission…"

And so Ruby told them about that night, when she had been interrupted by a stranger who turned out to not be a good person at all, and how the Grimm had attacked her and ignored him before he overpowered her. She told them how she had been taken to mountain Glenn and held prisoner there, and how she slowly figured out her captors were a bunch of crazy Grimm worshipers.

Yang could barely stay still in the bed. Ruby spoke only vaguely about the days she spent imprisoned, but Yang could detect the fear in her voice, and she didn't need to know all the details. Yang could very surely guess how horrible it had been, and her world was turning red. She wished she had one of these cultists to hit right now, and that they would hit _her_ so she could hit back even harder.

Ruby finished her tale with her escape, and she sounded a bit more cheerful then. That was a good memory, it seemed.

"And then I called Yang. They chased and found me. And that's it."

Qrow crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair, looking thoughtful. "Well I'll be damned. Grimm worshipers," he shook his head. "I've come across a few nutjobs of that kind over the years, but not more than a handful, and they were always isolated cases. And, from what I've seen and what you've told me, Ruby, it sounds like these guys might actually have a sensible concept of what the Grimm are."

"Huh? What do you mean?" Ruby asked, perking up.

"People like you and your sister can understand Grimm just fine. They're still unsettling and you'd rather not be anywhere near them, of course, but you know what they are. They're just animals, at the end of the day," Qrow explained. "But for the average person, it's different. The human mind isn't accustomed to the Grimm."

"You're saying the Grimm are magic, then? Like, if one attacked my math teacher, he would see something else entirely? Or nothing at all?" Yang questioned, her forehead wrinkled with confusion.

"No, I'm not talking about magic. I'm talking about something completely natural – it could conceivably happen with any traumatic experience, not just Grimm. I'm talking about fear. _Terror_ ," Qrow said. "Terror enough that your mind can't process what you're actually seeing, so it tries to make sense in the weirdest and most damaging ways. Like substituting _Grimm_ with _demons_ ," he paused. "Or… you can just go into a coma."

The room was quiet. Yang was feeling very twitchy all of sudden, as if the walls and ceiling were growing closer to her. She kept her eyes sharply away from the window and the darkness outside. She looked to Ruby, and to her surprise, realized she was having the exact opposite reaction. There was a spark in her eyes, and she was sitting straighter on her end of the bed.

Yang could only think that Ruby really had been born for this. The thought both comforted and worried her.

"Alright," Ruby said. "That kind of explains how Beacon have kept the Grimm a secret for so long."

"Don't mention that to Goodwitch. It might sound convenient, but it's just the opposite," Qrow said. "People don't go comatose for no reason. There must always be explanations – and, most of the time, we _can't_ give those explanations. And when people wake up from that…"

"We get a mountain full of lunatics?" Yang guessed.

Qrow nodded. "I imagine that's how it happened. It was bound to happen sometime, a bunch of people with past experiences with Grimm meeting and realizing that maybe, just maybe, they weren't as crazy as they thought. And then someone _else_ comes along, a smarter, more devious someone, and injects some reason and higher purpose into the mix…"

"The Shepherd. He's not cool," Ruby muttered. "You think he's manipulating the others?"

"No, he probably believes his nonsense too. Only he knows how to rein the craziness in and how to work people," Qrow said. "And he seems to have figured out how to get Grimm to come over to our world. Of course, the rituals and the other details are all crap, but…"

"Wait, wait, wait!" Ruby squealed. "He can actually summon Grimm, then? Bring about apocalypse and all that?"

"Well, sacrifices are very nasty. Imagine doing those over and over and over… that's _some_ negative energy," Qrow paused. "Enough to bring over something huge…"

He stood up suddenly and fished his phone out of his pocket, then headed to the door. Yang made to follow him, but he turned and looked at her, and that was all it took to stop her. Qrow nodded and left, closing the door behind him.

There was a moment of silence, broken only when Ruby picked her bag of chips up and broke one between her teeth. "Well that was weird," she said. "Why do you think he left like that?"

"I don't know, but he looked serious," Yang sat down on the bed again. "Like, _this is life or death_ serious."

"Maybe he's calling Beacon? Director Ozpin?" Ruby suggested, and suddenly her eyes widened. "Oh my God! Does Miss – sorry, does Commander Goodwitch know I'm okay? She must be super worried!"

Yang grinned. She had only met Glynda Goodwitch twice, and she didn't seem like the warmest of persons. Yang doubted she would be upset at receiving the news a little late. But she had urged Yang to find Ruby, so she clearly cared.

"I think your phone is back at the plane. Your pickaxe-thing too," Yang said.

"It's a scythe!" Ruby corrected, getting a little flustered. "And did you just say plane?"

"Technically, it's a Quinjet."

"A _what_?"

"You can just borrow mine, okay?" Yang tossed her phone to Ruby. "You can also call Dad while you're at it. He's gonna be very confused, I bet."

Ruby stared at her confusedly for a moment, then released a quiet note of realization. "Oh. He doesn't know about you…" she frowned. "Maybe I should call him later, then, with my own phone…"

"Hey, I don't mind," Yang said, although she did mind a bit. Coming out to Ruby had been nerve-wracking enough… "Whatever you wanna do."

Ruby got off the bed and just stood there for a while, looking indecisive. Finally, she left the room, already typing out a number in the cellphone.

* * *

 

Now that everything was considerably calmer, Yang realized the last week hadn't been _completely_ bad. Of course, she would never want to relive it or anything similar, both for herself and for her family, but… it had taken her mind off some bothersome things. Thoughts that had been substituted by worrying about her lost sister and wondering exactly what was up with her weird uncle.

Ruby was here. Ruby was okay. Life went on. What now?

She could get back on the road and finish her trip, but that seemed in bad taste, and she wasn't feeling up to it anyway. Yang had had enough excitement for one summer. That, and she really wanted to go back home to her dad. She missed him more than she was willing to admit.

But that wasn't the point. Today, tomorrow, next week, that was easy. One moment after another, just like it had always been. The bigger picture, which she had always been happy to ignore, was knocking on her door now, and she _had_ to answer it.

She really didn't want to, though. And so, like several times before, Yang put it off – just one last time. She deserved that, surely, after everything that had happened. She couldn't be blamed if she wanted to relax for a while…

* * *

 

After almost an hour had passed and neither Ruby nor Qrow had returned, Yang couldn't take it anymore. She went to the bathroom, took a quick shower, then left the room and the inn, hair still wet. Normally, she wouldn't risk doing anything that could damage it, but she couldn't stand to be alone any longer.

She found Ruby on the sidewalk. Much to Yang's surprise, she wasn't on the phone or anything. Ruby was simply pacing around, hands behind her back, eyes fixed on her feet. Yang couldn't tell how she was really feeling, but a quiet Ruby was never a well Ruby. Wordlessly, Yang approached her and wrapped her arms around her sister.

Ruby gave a little start. "Y-Yang!" she squeaked, turning her head to look at Yang's face. "You scared me!"

"Sorry," Yang backed off, thinking maybe sneaking up on Ruby hadn't been the most sensitive thing to do. "You just… are you okay?"

Ruby tilted her head a little, looking at Yang as if she didn't understand the question. "Uh, yes? Why?"

Yang crossed her arms. "Don't play dumb with me, Ruby."

But Ruby's expression didn't change, not even slightly. After a while, she made a perplexed noise with her mouth, then took Yang's phone from her pocket and offered it back.

"Weirdo," she said, smiling teasingly. " _Weirdo Woman_. That's your superhero name. I've decided it, and you can't change it."

Yang was too taken aback to object. Was Ruby really not shaken at all by what she had gone through, or had Beacon given her some top notch acting classes as part of her training? It made Yang unsettled.

 _Why_ was she unsettled? Ruby was okay. Maybe it was a little weird, but that should make Yang happy! Heck, why was she even surprised? Ruby had always been tough. She hadn't needed any persuasion to go fighting crime days after learning she had superpowers. Just the contrary, in fact…

"Yo, Weirdo Woman," Ruby poked her in the nose. "You're staring, and staring's not polite. Didn't Dad teach you?"

Yang blinked. "Excuse me, _poking_ is not polite. And I'm not Weirdo Woman. I'm not using a codename, or a costume, for that matter," she swept her hair around dramatically. "It would be useless. I'm too pretty to not be recognized."

"Oh, okay. And _I'm_ not pretty?" Ruby asked accusingly.

"I didn't make you use that costume," Yang said, evading the question. She was pretty sure half of Signal was aware of who 'Red Bolt' really was, but she was going to let Ruby believe what she wanted for as long as possible. It would make the moment the ruse fell all the more glorious.

Ruby didn't seem to like that answer very much, but that was the note at which she let the conversation go.

"Did you talk to Dad?" Yang asked.

"Yep," Ruby answered quickly. "He was happy, obviously. I almost went deaf. He asked why I was using your phone, but I didn't say much. I hung up when he started to talk about his latest starfish clock purchase."

" _Another_?"

"Apparently," Ruby shrugged. "Our family is weird, Yang. Speaking, where's uncle Qrow?"

As if summoned by her voice, Qrow appeared beside them. "Hello."

Yang and Ruby jumped away together, the latter assuming a fighting stance that couldn't belong to any real martial arts school. Qrow was oddly unamused.

"Where were you, you creep?" Yang asked, heart still racing a bit. "You weren't waiting for someone to mention you, right?"

"You think I have that kind of time?" Qrow scoffed. "No. Maybe another time, but not tonight. I was just busy talking with the Director of Beacon. They have to know everything to mount their assault on the bastards who kidnapped Ruby."

"We're doing something about them! Sweet!" Ruby yelled. "When's it happening?"

"That's classified information."

Ruby's jaw dropped, and then she looked hurt as Qrow refused to say anything else. It didn't take long for Yang to realize what was happening.

"Oh, not this again," she said. "You're not keeping Ruby out of this. She has a right to be involved. And you're not keeping _me_ out either."

"But I am. You're not even Beacon personnel," Qrow said dismissively. "And _she's_ just a rookie, a damn good one, but still a rookie."

Ruby lowered her head obediently. Not only was Qrow her uncle, but she had also learned to respect a superior officer's orders. She wasn't going to give obeying a second thought.

Yang, however, didn't have to respect any Beacon officer's authority. As for him being her uncle… _That_ didn't help him.

Yang took a step forward, prepared to lash out at him, but to her surprise, Qrow didn't give her the opportunity. He spoke instead, and using the heated tone of voice _she_ had meant to use, with the sincerity brought by hurt _she_ was feeling.

"I don't want to hear it, Yang. You think you're in the right, and maybe you are, but that's not what's in question right now! Ruby is safe. You found her. You two are going back home, and you're going to forget about all this. End of story. And if you won't listen to me, I will drop you on your asses and _drag_ you back to Patch."

He stepped right up to Yang and stared her down.

"Is _that_ what you wanted?"

Yang tried to match his gaze, but she couldn't. Soon, her eyes dropped to the pavement between them. Qrow backed away and turned, looking over his shoulder.

"I brought the Quinjet closer to town. Follow me."

He started walking. Yang watched him go, not knowing what to do.

And then Ruby burst back to life beside her. "What the heck is going on?!" she yelled.

Qrow turned around and looked at her, seemingly caught off-guard. Ruby's outburst shook Yang out of her stupor.

"Qrow, uh…" she tried to explain. "He… doesn't want…"

"I got that! I'm not stupid!" Ruby exclaimed in frustration. She set her eyes on Qrow. "Explain."

He opened his mouth, then closed it. Yang couldn't blame him. If Ruby had been looking at her that way, she wouldn't be able to speak either.

"Look. Maybe Director Ozpin or Commander Goodwitch gave the order, but I really doubt that. They both know I'm capable. So it's you who's trying to stop us," Ruby said. "I just survived two weeks with those jerks, and I've been killing Grimm all summer. And Yang's… Yang! She's awesome!" she paused. "So what are you afraid of?"

What remained of Qrow's resolve withered away at once. He walked back to Yang and Ruby, face twisted into a grimace. Ruby had struck a nerve, it seemed.

"You two aren't the only people in this family with a Semblance," he said. He looked at Ruby, "Your mother had one. You already knew that," he looked at Yang intensely, as if holding something back, then looked away. "I have one too."

"I figured," Ruby said quietly. "You kinda got shot all over before… I wanted to say something, but I didn't, 'cause, you know… _awkward_ …"

"Few people know. Your father. The Director. And I imagine some select Beacon elite. That's because my Semblance isn't as flashy as yours," Qrow swept his hair back from his forehead. "I bring bad luck."

Yang and Ruby looked at each other, and recognizing their mutual confusion, realized they hadn't heard wrong.

"Excuse me, bad luck?" Yang repeated. "That's not a thing."

"Sure. Believe whatever you want. But you've seen it with your own eyes. The only reason you haven't seen worse is because I've been suppressing it while you're near – and believe me, that's been rather unpleasant," Qrow said through gritted teeth. "Whoever's near me can count on misfortune coming their way. Doesn't matter whether they're friend or foe, everyone gets their share. Some get it worse, some don't even notice it. But no one escapes."

"But… but…" Ruby was trying to find something to say, but she was as much at a loss as Yang.

Qrow grinned bitterly. "That's why I prefer not hanging around you two. I've learned my lesson about being near people I care about," he paused, then added under his breath, "…several times over."

Yang shifted her weight between her feet. Suddenly, it made a lot sense why Qrow visited so rarely, and always for such short times. And her dad had always been rather prickly towards Qrow, but she had assumed that was about some history between them she didn't know of, or some silly adult men thing. If she had children, she wouldn't want them to have constant bad luck…

And there she was, believing him. Yang pulled back from her thoughts and looked Qrow in the eyes.

"You don't want us near you while we're fighting," she said. "Fine. You hang back, then, while me and Ruby take care of the bad guys. Deal?"

Qrow rolled his eyes, regaining some of his usual attitude. "Right. And then you can take over my job while I retire to some deserted island on the Vacuan ocean. _No_."

"Okay," Ruby piped in. "Yang, here's the plan: we drop uncle Qrow on his ass and lock him inside a wardrobe, then we take care of the cultists. Deal?"

"Language!" Yang crossed her arms. "…But, yes, deal."

They turned towards Qrow at the same time, and he backed away, looking genuinely scared.

"Where's the bad luck now, uncle?" Yang grinned. "Ooh, right, you can't use that on your nieces… that's the whole point…"

"Relax, uncle Qrow, we'll go easy on you!" Ruby said. "I will, at least."

"You're going to regret this one day, you pests," Qrow threw his arms up in surrender. "Fine! You win! You can come along, if you want it so much! Hope a rock drops on both of your heads."

He turned and walked away in a hurry, as if still expecting to be attacked. Yang and Ruby high-fived, then ran after him.

"I thought Beacon was planning an assault?" Ruby asked. "Shouldn't we wait for reinforcements?"

" _I_ was the assault, you idiot," Qrow said. "Now _we_ are the assault. Congratulations!" he took his flask from his belt and uncorked it pitifully. "God, I wish this wasn't empty."

He picked up speed, leaving them far behind. Ruby looked at Yang, full of doubt.

"I think we made him really, really mad," she whispered. "I feel bad."

"Well," Yang said. "He can't hide forever."

She stopped. Ruby went on a few more steps ahead of her, then turned to look back at her confusedly.

"Nothing," Yang answered the question before it came. "I'm just very right."

And she marched on, curling her hands into fists.


	8. All Our Days

"We need to hurry," Qrow said as he opened the hangar of the Quinjet. "Those weirdos have been busted and they know it. Chances are they're going to do something stupid because of it."

"Something stupid like…?" Yang asked.

"Kicking a puppy," Qrow looked at her exasperatedly. "I've never been in a cult, how the hell should I know?"

He walked inside, and Yang and Ruby followed. Ruby stopped in the middle of the hangar and looked around in awe. Yang gave her a gentle push to get her going, though she didn't blame Ruby for having a reaction like that.

"Get Ruby's whack-a-thingy! It's under the bed!" Qrow shouted, hurrying to the cockpit.

"It's a- oh, forget it," Ruby sighed.

Yang went to the retractable bed on the wall and crouched. There was a footlocker there, but it was closed with a padlock.

"Oh no, it's locked," Ruby said sadly. "Let me get uncle –" Yang ripped out the padlock and tossed it behind her "- oh okay that works too I guess."

Yang rummaged through the contents of the footlocker, then got up and handed Ruby her phone and weapon. Ruby ran one hand through Crescent Rose before unfolding it. The blade was sharp as ever, and there was nothing to indicate anything was off about it.

"I've missed you, baby," Ruby cooed, rubbing a cheek against the scythe's handle. "I'll never lose you again. _Never_."

More than a little weirded out, Yang went to the cockpit. Qrow had just closed the hangar, and was carefully getting the Quinjet off the ground. Looking at the control panel, Yang learned that the plane was in cloaked mode.

"What's the point?" she asked. "Isn't there too much noise?"

"I don't care if they see us taking off," Qrow said. Ruby joined them, having put Crescent Rose away, much to Yang's relief. "Listen to me, you two. Your target is the Grimm. Under no circumstance will you engage the cultists – that's my job," he paused. "I recommend you stay as far as you can."

"But what if you get in trouble, uncle Qrow?" Ruby asked.

"That's cute," Qrow said under his breath. " _If_."

They ascended high above the town, stopping just below the clouds. Slowly, the Crow turned to face Mountain Glenn.

"The entrance to their – ahem – _lair_ faces east, you said?" Qrow asked Ruby.

"Uh, sure," Ruby stood on the tip of her feet to whisper on Yang's ear. "Where's east?"

"Hmm. And there is that opening at the top…" he smiled roguishly. "How would you two like to make a grand entrance?"

Ruby looked coyly at Yang, as if asking for permission.

"Are you kidding me?" Yang smiled. "That sounds _awesome_."

"Alright," Qrow said. "Get back there and get prepared, then."

Yang and Ruby walked to the back and stood side by side, facing the closed hangar door. Yang cast Ruby a wary glance as she examined Crescent Rose a second time, just to be certain it was in working order.

"Hey, Ruby," Yang called quietly.

"Hmm?" Ruby mumbled, not looking at her.

"Stay close to me, okay? I don't want you to get hurt," Yang said.

Ruby raised her head, the corners of her mouth quivering, as if she were barely holding back laughter. "Sure."

Yang put her hands on her hips. "What's so funny?"

"Well…" Ruby grinned. "I'm not new to this stuff. Maybe _you_ should be sticking close to _me_."

Yang frowned. Maybe Ruby had a point, but even if she had been doing this for two months already, that wasn't that much time. She wasn't the ultimate Grimm-slaying agent, and she could still use some help, even from a newbie.

Besides, it wouldn't matter if Ruby were the freaking Director of Beacon. Yang was still her older sister.

"Okay," Yang said. "Whatever works for you, sis."

The Quinjet stopped. A green light came on in the corner, indicating the hangar was about to open.

It was time to go.

* * *

Inside mountain Glenn, in the first hollow cavern in its network of tunnels, the Shepherd and his flock gathered. They had suffered heavy losses in a single day, but they still totaled more than thirty, and they were more united than ever.

The Grimm watched from every corner, every perch, red eyes glowing in the darkness untouched by the light above. There was something ominous in the air, which was normal in their presence, but today it was stronger than ever. They were on the verge of being unleashed – or, more accurately, of dismissing the presence of the flock, which they had been merely tolerating them until now.

The Shepherd knew that, and he knew that something needed to be done about it, or else everything they had been working towards for so long would be ruined. And so he spoke, with every one of his fellow men and women standing in a circle around him, listening avidly.

"Brothers and sisters, the time has finally come," he intoned gravely, looking around, his hood drawn low to reveal the glint in his eyes. "We have waited long, but at last, reckoning comes. Reckoning for humanity; reckoning for all sinners."

"I see the doubt in your eyes, and though that is a sin, I do not condemn you for it. The greatest storm comes before vindication, and what a storm we have faced. Many of our own were taken from us – but they have not left us! Their spirits remain with us, and they too shall enjoy the coming paradise."

"But the storm has not yet passed. To end it, to see our glorious destiny fulfilled, we must claim it with our own hands. You all know what that means, and I know you are all prepared. We shall fulfill our duty to the Black Ones."

"Come, and let the-"

But a loud noise interrupted him, like a boulder had just come crashing down from the sky just behind him. A cloud of dirt washed over him and his flock, and as he turned, he saw a figure rise through it.

Two red eyes shone faintly, fixed upon him. "Sorry, am I late to the party?" Yang cracked her knuckles. "Oh, and I forgot about the offering, had to buy something last second. Is a big serving of gratuitous violence okay?"

The Shepherd scowled nastily, and the other cultists converged around him, drawing daggers. "No!" he hissed. "The Black Ones will punish her. We are not to stand in their way."

The Grimm sprung to life all around, leaving their resting spots and converging on Yang. A giant black bird, a Nevermore, hovered above her, its feathers shining like sharp metal. It opened its beak and screeched, but then a crimson blur passed by it, and suddenly its head was on the floor, severed from the rest of its body.

Ruby landed beside Yang and slammed Crescent Rose on the ground, then glared at the Shepherd. "Vengeance has come, meek fools!"

Yang nodded once, then blinked and turned to look at her. " _What_?"

"It's… it's the language they use," Ruby said awkwardly. "Don't judge me, judge _them_."

"Retreat!" the Shepherd shouted. "To the inner caverns! Leave the heathens to their judgment!"

"See what I mean?!" Ruby exclaimed.

The Shepherd and his cultists ran away, disappearing in a tunnel that led deeper into the mountain. Even if Yang and Ruby had wanted to chase them, they wouldn't have been able to, as now more than a hundred Grimm surrounded them, and more waited nearby, ready to take up the place of any that fell.

"Alright, so, do you have a plan of attack when in this kind of situation?" Yang asked.

"Yep," Ruby answered, lifting Crescent Rose and point it downward. "You kick butt and that's it."

She shot the ground, and the recoil of the blast sent her flying up the air. She became level with a trio of Griffons and swung Crescent Rose, slicing them all and turning them to smoke. As she began to fell, Ruby pointed Crescent Rose behind her and shot again, and went rocketing towards an Ursa on the other side of the cavern.

"Okay then," Yang said, raising her fists.

A Boarbatusk came rolling at her, but she strengthened her stance and crossed her arms in front of her, blocking it. The monster spun against her in midair for a moment, trying to break through, but it quickly lost momentum and fell on its back, exposing its vulnerable underside. Yang stomped on it with all her might, vanquishing it.

Now half the horde was closing in on her, Beowolves and Ursas and Boarbatusks and other species Ruby had not told her about. Yang was tempted to take them on where she stood and build up her power to deal with all of them at once, but she knew that was more risk than was worth. Edging backwards, she tried to get hit as least as possible while whittling down the Grimm one by one.

It was harder than she had expected, requiring every ounce of her attention. One slip-up, and the Grimm would overwhelm her, and then she would have to hope she had enough strength to free herself from them. Maybe Ruby had been right, after all, about who needed help from whom.

Although she gave all her focus to the fight, she was still caught by surprise when two talons wrapped around her shoulders and lifted her from the ground. Yang looked up into the underside of a Nevermore. She tried to break free, but the creature's grip was too strong, even for her. The bird ascended at an alarming speed, passing the top of the cavern into open air, then turned sharply and, in the same motion, released her.

Yang spun helplessly as she plummeted, brain unable to keep up with what was happening. Suddenly, an agonizing pain shot down her spine, and she was lying dazed on the ground. Yang got to her knees slowly and looked up, only to meet eyes with the hugest Grimm she had seen yet.

A Beringel. Ruby had talk about fighting one of those during the Breach at Patch. It had almost killed her. Even if Yang was tougher than her, she suddenly found herself fearing for her life.

Yang got up, facing the Beringel, and raised her arms. The other Grimm were waiting behind it, as if afraid to interfere. Yang grit her teeth, deciding to teach them who they should be afraid of, and dashed to the Beringel, landing a punch across his face.

It didn't even flinch. Before she could retreat, the Beringel's humongous hand shot forward and closed around her torso. It lifted her above its head and roared, then brought her down, slamming her against the floor. The brutal attack hurt as much as the fall the Nevermore had inflicted on her.

Yang didn't even have enough time to take in the pain, as the Beringel slammed her down again, and again, and again. All she could see now was the blurred transition between the brown of the ground and the blue of the sky as she was jerked up and down. There was no respite, no opportunity to fight back. Her power was rising fast, she could feel it, but her Aura was withering away in equal measure.

Maybe she had bitten off more than she could chew…

And then she heard a loud bang, and the Beringel released her, flinging her upwards. As she reached the apex of her ascension, Yang regained her sense of space and corrected herself as she fell. She landed on her feet and looked up. The Beringel was clutching an eye with both hands. A shadowy red smoke was spilling between its fingers.

Now that she was standing, Yang could feel the power coursing through her, and it was _overflowing_. Her eyes positively _shining_ red, she threw her arms downwards at her sides, and a fiery aura erupted from her. She dashed forward, feet leaving the ground, and delivered upon the Beringel a punch so powerful her whole body shook with the impact. The monster's armor-like skin broke apart, and then a burst of fire released from her fist, enveloping the Beringel and incinerating it, as well as a handful of Grimm behind it.

Panting hard, Yang turned her head to look over her shoulder. Ruby lowered Crescent Rose slowly, giving her a look of equal amazement and fear. "Wow. You really shoot fire."

Yang nodded stiffly. Ruby looked around awkwardly, then took a couple steps away.

"I'll go back to my stuff, then," she said. "Unless you, uh, need any more help?"

Yang grunted, then jumped at the horde in front of her, becoming like a living inferno that quickly halved the mass of Grimm.

"Yep," Ruby turned away. "Got the message!"

* * *

Qrow ran down the dark tunnels of Mountain Glenn, listening hard to the distant sounds of the retreating cultists to not lose his way. He held his pistol low in his right hand, ready to use at first notice.

Frankly, this whole thing was pissing him off. He got the need for these lairs – well, he didn't get it, but he got that types like those cultists liked their evil lairs – but why on Remnant would anyone choose a place with so many diverging paths, and worst of all, install no lights? No wonder these people were crazy. They probably were used to not seeing the light of day for weeks at a time.

Also, there were Grimm. There were a lot of goddamn Grimm. He was afraid he was going to run out of ammo with how many he was having to kill to keep going. If the tunnels were a bit larger, he could have used another method, but that was too much to ask.

Bad luck, but he couldn't really blame his Semblance for it this time.

He was almost pleased when he left the tunnels into a small cavern, but that triumphant feeling quickly evaporated when he noticed something unusual. At the other end of the cavern, resting with his back against a wall, was a dead cultist. There was blood running down his robes, flowing from a small hole right where his heart should be.

"But how-" Qrow stopped himself. He already had figured it out. "Oh, hell no."

He ran into another tunnel, following the noise of the cultists again, and now he could tell it was getting progressively lower. He nearly tripped on another body in the darkness. He needed to go faster.

When he finally reached the noise, he had seen far more bodies than he had been hoping for when planning the assault. Leaving the tunnels, he walked into a place unlike any before. It had actual walls and a floor built of flawless stone. No matter where Qrow looked, there were symbols and lines that together seemed to form a bigger picture, though he couldn't hope to understand.

Standing in the middle of the room, firmly inside a drawn circle like a rune, was the Shepherd. There was one last cultist standing before him, but Qrow had no time to intervene. The Shepherd had already pulled back his dagger from her chest.

"Rest well, sister."

The cultist crumpled to the floor, where she lay unmoving. Qrow sneered with disgust.

"Now, you," he said, walking towards the Shepherd. "You are a real son of a bitch. I really thought I had seen the worst of it, but you keep surpassing expectations," Qrow stopped not far from him. "I'm supposed to bring you in alive, but I have to admit I'm finding it really hard to obey that order right now."

"I do not care. Yours is a league of sinners," the Shepherd said. "To call you misguided would be heresy."

"Damn, you're deep in it, pal," Qrow tapped his temple. "Seriously. Just shut your mouth and I'll make it easy for you. Easi _er_."

"I'm afraid you are quite lost. You will not accomplish your mission," the Shepherd grinned viciously. "But perhaps you can be useful for mine."

He reached inside his robe and took out a pistol. Wasting no time, he pointed it at Qrow's head and pulled the trigger.

There was a click, then nothing. He tried again, to no avail. Shaking with fury, he lowered the gun.

"That's some bad luck," Qrow noted dryly.

"It matters not. You would not have fallen anyway," the Shepherd's eyes narrowed. "Demonic freak."

"Thanks!" Qrow exclaimed. "Now, turn around and put your wrists together…"

The Shepherd raised his gun again, but this time did not aim at Qrow. Instead, he pressed the barrel to his own head. Swearing, Qrow ran forward, but it was too late.

"For the Black Ones."

Qrow turned away, wincing as the bang rang in his ears. As he was mustering the stomach to look, he noticed a red glow tinging the walls. He turned around, and above the runic circle in the center of the room saw a black and red portal materialize from thin air. It grew bigger and bigger, almost reaching the ceiling.

And then he saw two red eyes glare at him from the other end, and he jumped aside. Something burst past him, a snake-like body that crashed into the wall of the room and, forgoing use of the tunnels, burrowed into the rock and sped up the mountain.

Qrow stood in panic, watching as more and more of the snake emerge from the portal. Did it have no end? It took a minute and more for the Grimm to finally come out fully, the portal closing immediately behind it.

Doing the first thing that came to his mind, Qrow jumped and grabbed on to the tail, and was dragged up into the darkness.

* * *

Ruby swung in front of her, slicing through a Beowolf, then shot and jumped backwards. Spinning, she cleaved an Ursa that had been about to blindside her, cutting through its back like butter. She landed and raised Crescent Rose again, aiming at more distant Beowolves and killing them with red Dust rounds.

As she changed her aim to another Grimm, she was suddenly lifted off the ground by her cloak. Looking back, she met a familiar, if unwelcome, face – or rather, eye. The Golem which had been her warden stared at her with cold maliciousness, as if looking forward to punishing her for escaping.

Well, she didn't have a shock collar around her neck now, and most importantly, she wasn't unarmed. Turning Crescent Rose, she aimed straight at the Grimm's singular eye and shot. The Golem dropped her, but otherwise didn't appear too fazed.

Ruby didn't let up, however, firing round after round, all exploding in its eye or next to it. The Golem stumbled back, then fell on its back. The main rock that formed its torso was cracked. Smiling victoriously, Ruby raised Crescent Rose above her head, then hammered the rock with the blunt end of it.

The rock shattered, and the Grimm released a strange noise, like air filling a vacuum. Its eye faded, then disappeared completely, and the rocks that had comprised the Golem rolled away from each other, no longer connected by whatever force had held them together before.

"Sorry, buddy," she said. "But you really had it coming."

Looking around, Ruby was surprised to find there weren't that many Grimm left. She had expected this to take a lot longer, and that she would have a harder time than at the Patch Breach, but it had actually been easier until now. She had underestimated how useful having a partner was.

Yang joined her, cracking her neck and moaning quietly. "You know, killing Grimm really takes a lot out of you."

"Yep. We're pretty much done, though," Ruby said. "Nice job, by the way!"

"Eh. You kinda saved my ass back there," Yang admitted.

"Language!"

"You _absolutely_ saved my ass back there."

"…Okay, I'll accept that," Ruby said grudgingly. "Hey, have you seen uncle Qrow? Maybe we should help him with the weirdos."

"No, let's just finish with the Grimm," Yang shrugged. "I'm sure he's doing fine."

A tremor shook the cavern, nearly making them collapse. Even as they stumbled around, Ruby made sure to glare at Yang.

Suddenly, the whole floor gave way, shattering and falling into a void below. They began to fall, spinning around, hopelessly confused about what was happening. And then they looked down together and saw a _huge_ snake coming up, its body somehow sticking to the walls.

The snake's eyes fixed on Ruby, and it turned its head her way and opened its mouth, so that she would fall right into it. Shrieking, Ruby aimed Crescent Rose to the side and shot, sending herself hurling away. She buried the blade on a wall and hung there, taking short breaths to calm herself.

"Are you okay?!" Yang yelled, clinging to the wall opposite.

"Yeah!" Ruby replied, watching the snake's body race past.

Finally, the tail arrived, and clinging to it was none other than Qrow, screaming obscenities at the top of his lungs.

"Uncle Qrow!" Yang jumped from the wall and shot a burst of fire from her fists, boosting herself upwards, and grabbed onto the tail.

Ruby joined them a few moments later. Qrow looked both pleased and annoyed that they were there, for whatever reason.

"Uncle Qrow, what the heck is _this_?" Ruby asked, poking the snake's hide. "Is it a Super Mega King Taijitu or something?"

"I don't know, it's never been seen before!" Qrow grunted. "We need to kill it before it gets out!" The snake's head reached the open air and disappeared past the edge at the top. "We need to kill it before it gets _even_ _more_ out!"

"How?!" Ruby exclaimed.

Yang looked up and down the snake. It was going to be out entirely soon, and then there was no way it was getting back inside the mountain. If they didn't do something fast…

"I have a crazy idea," she looked at her sister and uncle. "Jump off!"

Ruby and Qrow looked at each other dubiously.

"Just do it!" Yang shouted impatiently.

Ruby nodded and grabbed Qrow around the waist – "Watch it!" – and jumped off. She swung Crescent Rose clumsily and buried it in a wall.

Yang waited a little, bracing herself, then stuck out her feet and fixed them on the wall. The rock shattered around them, and her toes hurt like crazy. She held on to the snake with all her strength and bended her knees.

The effort of holding back the snake was beyond anything she had ever felt. For a moment, she thought she was going to be ripped apart. Then, the Grimm started to slow down, before coming to a halt entirely. Shouting hoarsely, Yang stood with her feet buried on the wall and swung her arms over her head. She saw the shadow of the snake across her, then the deafening noise of it falling back down, shattering the wall opposite as it went. Yang let go of the tail.

"Uncle Qrow," Ruby whispered.

"What?" he asked roughly.

"I think I have the best sister in the world."

The snake plummeted for a long while, nearly disappearing in the darkness, but it eventually managed to turn and burrow into a wall. They all waited in suspense as the mountain shook all around them. Where was it going? What should they do?

Suddenly, the snake's head burst from the rock just above Yang and tried to bite her, but she dropped a couple meters, avoiding it. The snake screeched at her, jaw opened wide. Freeing one hand, Yang swung it again and again, shooting spirals of fire that went right into the snake's throat.

The Grimm closed it mouth and just hung there for a moment. Yang sighed in relief, thinking she just might have done it in, but that wasn't the case. The snake opened its mouth again and released a fiery breath upon her. Yang grit her teeth. The flames didn't set her on fire, but they hurt.

The snake stopped, having released everything she had thrown at it before. It edged back into the wall, then shot outwards, burrowing into the other side. In mere seconds, it came out again, this time going straight for her. Yang jumped away, only barely avoiding being gobbled up.

The snake must have known that it had almost gotten her, as it tried again to catch her like that, and once more she only just managed to dodge. The Grimm repeated the tactic without rest, sending Yang into a frenzy as she jumped from wall to wall. Soon, the hollow length of the mountain had sections of the snake's body sprouting from everywhere. She could only imagine how twisted it was in its entirety.

Thankfully, Yang didn't have to endure that forever. After another dodge, she grabbed onto a wall and looked around, listening for the familiar tremors of the snake's movement, but there was nothing. Was it resting, or was it planning something else? Regardless of what it was doing, Yang was glad to have a moment's pause.

"This is the worst vacation I've ever had!" she shouted between breaths. "Anyone have a plan?"

She looked around and, after a while, located Qrow. He was hanging by the handle of a curved blade, looking up for some reason. But Ruby was nowhere to be seen…

"Where's Ruby?" Yang shouted across to Qrow.

He looked at her, then nodded up. Yang followed his gaze and noticed a trail of roses floating gently in the air, going ever higher. Her eyes widened when finally, at the end of the trail, she saw Ruby – though she was nearly a blur – running up the walls to the top of the mountain.

As Yang watched, Ruby reached the edge and took a wide turn, then jumped off and started falling, building even more speed. She was going so fast, _so fast_ \- Yang completely lost her.

A shrill noise pierced her ears. Yang watched in amazement as, all around her, sections of the snake's body were inexplicably cut in two. The separate pieces flopped against the walls, then slid out of their holes, disappearing in the darkness below.

And then an enormous cloud of smoke rose from there, passed by her and Qrow, and dissipated in the sky. A few seconds later, Ruby appeared, running up a wall. She stopped beside Qrow, grabbing his leg and sighing, her eyes closed.

"Oof, that was scary."

Yang looked at her uncle. He had the same amazed expression she imagined she was wearing.

"Uncle Qrow?"

"What?"

"I think I have the best sister in the world."

* * *

The death of the giant snake – which Ruby decided would be temporarily named Mister Bad Fangs – brought an end to the assault. It seemed the other Grimm had died because of the collapse, and if by any chance any remained, Qrow said it was unlikely they would be able to get out of the mountain with the mess it was now.

They waited at the foot of the mountain for Beacon to arrive and handle the situation, not saying a word to each other. They were too tired to speak after the battle. As soon as the agents landed, Qrow uncloaked his Quinjet and ushered his nieces inside, and took off.

While they traveled, Yang sat on the bed at the hangar, leaning against the wall behind her. Ruby was lying down, head resting in her lap. And Yang thought…

…maybe this vacation hadn't been so bad.

* * *

It was well into the morning when they reached home, as they had to cross almost the full length of the country, from Mountain Glenn at the very north to the southeastern sea that surrounded Patch Island. By then, everyone was feeling considerably refreshed. Ruby was skipping around the cockpit, pestering Qrow with questions about the intricacies of his job and Grimm Goodwitch refused to tell her about. He humored her, in his snarky way.

But as they drew closer to the city, Yang found that she couldn't join in on the conversation. There was an anxious feeling prickling at the back of her neck, and once or twice she felt her stomach churn at the thought that, in mere minutes, she would be back home, in her dad's presence.

She could just imagine how that talk would go. He had pretty much freaked out when he found out Ruby had superpowers, and now he had discovered his eldest did too. And in the worst way possible, too… Yang wished she hadn't insisted Ruby call him. Then she would have had the opportunity to tell him herself and in person, which sounded much, much better.

To both sisters' surprise, Qrow didn't land at the edge of town as they had been expecting, but kept flying into the city. Soon, they were hovering above their house, and then he landed right on the front yard, causing pieces of the fence and the mailbox to go flying away violently.

Taiyang came running out the front door, waving his arms above his head as if the sky was falling. He skidded to a halt when he saw the Crow sitting there. Qrow smirked at him through the Quinjet's windshield.

"Qrow! I can't believe-" Taiyang roared, looking around at his ruined yard. "Why would you do that, you idiot!"

"Heh," Qrow chuckled, pressing a button to open the hangar.

Ruby squealed happily and disappeared from the plane. The next second, she was tackling her father into a hug, nearly knocking him down. Taiyang looked down at her as if in disbelief, then a huge smile parted his lips.

"Ruby! You're – you're here!" he yelled, voice catching in his throat for a moment.

"I am!" Ruby pressed her cheek against his chest. "I missed you, dad."

"I… I didn't know they had found you," he said. "Was it Qrow? I might forgive the damage if that's the case."

"Yep, uncle Qrow found me," Ruby smiled. "But he had help."

Yang was halfway off the Quinjet, having paused as she listened to the conversation. She was so confused – hadn't Ruby told him? Had Ruby… _lied_?

"Get a move on, ya dingus," Qrow said, shoving her forward. Yang stumbled into the front yard, paused for a moment more, then walked around to the front of the Quinjet.

"Yang?" her father said when he saw her. His head was almost parallel with the ground as he stared at her. "You were with Qrow?"

"Uh, yeah," Yang said awkwardly, looking back at her uncle momentarily. "I was."

"Why?" Taiyang asked.

"I roped her into it," Qrow said as he walked past Yang. "You got food? I'm starving."

Taiyang looked from him, to Yang, to Ruby, looking completely lost. After a while, he made a little noise, then pointed to the front door and walked inside. Ruby let go of him, looked back at Yang, then scurried after him, head bent low.

"Hope there's popcorn," Qrow said to Yang, beaming. "I love me some family drama."

* * *

Taiyang quickly fixed a breakfast consisting of sandwiches and orange juice, and they sat around the kitchen table to eat. Yang didn't eat much, but rather listened as Ruby narrated an abridged version of the past two weeks to their father, leaving out all the parts involving Yang having superpowers, which resulted in several holes in the story, obviously, but if Taiyang noticed that, he didn't say anything. He was overjoyed to have Ruby back home, safe and sound.

Yang also realized that Ruby's account of her days in captivity was much milder than the one she had given her and Qrow – there was no talk of sacrifices or people threatening her with daggers. At first, Yang thought she was trying to appear brave, but she discarded that notion fast. Ruby didn't want their dad to worry about her. With that being the case, Yang couldn't help but feel uneasy as she wondered what details _she_ might have been spared.

Was it her imagination, or was Ruby shooting her guilty stares every once in a while?

"And then I turned back and started falling, and I held out Crescent Rose and aimed the blade at Mister Bad Fangs," Ruby made a chopping motion with her hand. "And I sliced him like sushi!"

"Yes," Qrow said dryly. "Like sushi. A snake."

"You know what I mean!" Ruby pouted at him. "You were there to watch."

"Wow. Taking care of a Grimm that big… all by yourself," Taiyang paused. "Did you see that too, Yang?"

Yang nearly choked on her sandwich. She dropped it to raise both thumbs at him. "Yeah! Ruby kicked butt! …All on her own!"

Her ears turned red as her father fixed him with a knowing stare. Beside her, Qrow stopped eating altogether to press both hands to his mouth. By the sounds he was making, her uncle was close to collapsing in laughter.

"You know, Ruby, I think you ought to go to your room," Taiyang said, still looking at Yang. "You must be very tired after all of that. A good rest would do you good."

"Nah, I'm okay, Dad! Look, I'm so okay, I can do-"

"Your bedroom's just as you left it at the start of summer," he continued, ignoring her. "Beat off the dust, and your bed is as good as ready."

Ruby didn't try to argue. She glanced at Yang apologetically, then left the kitchen. Yang listened to her going up the stairs to her room, a sense of dred paralyzing her.

When Ruby's door closing was heard, Taiyang shifted in him chair to look at Qrow. "How long have _you_ known?"

"Almost as long as she has," Qrow shrugged. "I came to visit sometime when she was ten, and one morning, she came up to me and said she was afraid she was becoming a werewolf-zombie."

"What?!" Yang turned to him, losing her anxiousness. "You're making that up!"

"Yeah," Qrow grinned. "It was actually werewolf-zombie-shark she said, but that's just dumb. I've been trying to convince her of that ever since," he leaned forward. "Anyway. I explained to her what was actually happening, and I told her not to tell you."

"And _why_ , pray tell, did you do that?" Taiyang asked, rubbing the top of his nose in frustration.

"You had enough going on," Qrow answered shortly, his dry smile gone suddenly.

Taiyang shook his head, as if he couldn't decide between hating or appreciating Qrow in that moment. He stood up, paced a little, then looked at Qrow again.

"Is it the same as _hers_?"

"It's very similar," Qrow said. "But your daughter also shoots fire."

"Excuse me?" Taiyang blinked. " _She_ didn't shoot fire."

"She did, metaphorically speaking."

"Come on, she wasn't _that_ bad…"

"Really? Man, look who you're talking to."

Yang looked at the two of them in turns. "Who the hell are you talking about? Who's _she_?"

Taiyang pursed his lips, and Qrow was suddenly very interested in the ceiling. Yang frowned, wondering what could shut them up so quickly-

"Oh my God," Yang sank in her chair. "Everyone. Not _one person_ is normal in this family," Yang looked at Qrow. "Did she work for Beacon too? Sorry, I meant _with_?"

Qrow opened his mouth, but Taiyang cut him off. "That doesn't matter right now," he said. "Yang, _why_ didn't you tell me? All these years, and you kept quiet. And when Ruby…!" he waved his hands helplessly at her.

"Uncle Qrow already told you why," Yang said. "I didn't do it just because he told me, though. I agreed with him then, and I still do."

"Are you joking?" Taiyang scowled. "I'm not some… hopeless widow, you know. I'm not going to burst into tears every time something like that comes up."

"You freaked out when you found out Ruby had superpowers," she pointed out.

"I freaked out because your sister was going out and _getting shot at_ by criminals every night."

Yang slammed her hands on the table, causing her plate to fly up and shatter on the floor. She looked up at her father, her eyes shimmering red.

"It's been eighteen years, and you still can't talk to me about my mother," she spat. "It's _your_ fault. I didn't tell you because I was afraid you were going to – to look at me like – of course she's all wrong, look who she came from _, I should have guessed_!"

Silence.

Suddenly, she realized she was standing, and that she had been yelling, and that Qrow was shaking in his seat - in anger or whatever else.

"But sweetheart," her father said brokenly. "I love you."

Yang hunched against the table, keeping her eyes far away from his. If she faced him for another second, she was either going to break down or start screaming again.

"Uncle Qrow."

He shifted in his seat.

"Are you going to tell me about her?"

"I want to," Qrow said. "But I can't. I'm sorry, kid."

"That's fine," Yang took a deep breath. "You were right. I can't pretend I'm normal. Everything is _not_ okay," she paused. "I want my motorcycle."

"Yang!" her father exclaimed, distressed.

She turned around and marched away, leaving the kitchen and the house through the front door. Taiyang made to follow her, but Qrow held him by the wrist, stopping him.

"What?" Taiyang hissed. "You're gonna let her go?"

"Yeah," Qrow got up and pushed him away. He reached the front door and looked back. "We screwed up."

* * *

The anger was fading when she reached the docks. By the time she had bought her passage and parked Bumblebee on the boat that would take her mainland, it had vanished completely.

But she didn't go back.

Ruby made her think again, though. She arrived in a blur, looking breathless and at the verge of tears. Yang immediately felt awful.

"Yang!" Ruby hugged her and didn't let go, as if afraid that Yang would jump into the water to escape if she did. "Why are you doing this? Where are you going?!"

Yang sighed. She had known Ruby wouldn't let her go without trying to stop her, and she wasn't upset about it. She didn't want to go without saying goodbye. But it made leaving that much harder.

"It's complicated, Ruby," she said, trying to weasel out of a proper explanation.

"I don't care if it's freaking rocket science!" Ruby exclaimed. "I heard everything, okay? I get that you're upset, but – come on, Yang, let's go back!"

"Look, Ruby, it's not about anything Dad or Qrow said, okay? I'm not mad at them – well, I am, but…" Yang groaned. "This isn't a temper tantrum."

Ruby stepped back, eyeing her carefully. Her chin trembled the next time she spoke. "Is it… is it because I lied to you?" she asked. "I'm sorry! I thought it would be better if you told Dad in person. I didn't think-"

"Ruby, no! You didn't do anything wrong! I'm – I'm happy you did that, because you were right," Yang nodded. "I needed to have that talk with Dad."

"But it wasn't a good talk! It was a bad, bad talk! The _worst_ talk! It would have been better if you had just mimed at each other!"

Yang smiled despite herself. Ruby looked at her hard and put her foot down, as if she had had enough of Yang dodging the question.

"Ruby… I think it might be hard for you to understand – and that's not a bad thing, okay? – but I've… I've never really known what to do with life," Yang said. "You know, I had school and kickboxing and my friends and all that… But that's temporary, you know? I'm not like you."

Ruby blinked, her posture slouching, and Yang could tell she wasn't _demanding_ anymore, but _listening_.

"You always knew what you wanted to be, even if that wasn't always clear. I mean, you got your Semblance, and then…" Yang snapped her fingers. "That was it."

"It wasn't easy!" Ruby frowned.

"Oh, really? When did you think twice, before or after I made you a costume to go chasing bad guys in the street?" Yang raised an eyebrow. "The point is, I don't have that vision you have. I don't know who I am. And I think that's because, at least in part, I don't know anything about my mom – who she was, why she left, why Dad and Qrow won't even speak her name…"

"So, what?" Ruby crossed her arms. "You're gonna try to find her or something? And when you do, you think you're gonna have all the answers?"

"Probably not, but it's all I've got," Yang said. "And, like they say, it's not about the destination, but the journey. Maybe something's gonna happen between now and then. Maybe I'll stumble into an art museum and develop an obsession that'll set me on the road to become the greatest painter Remnant has ever known."

"Or maybe you'll be eaten by wild coyotes. Wait, do we have coyotes in Vale?"

If Ruby was joking, that meant she had accepted what Yang was doing.

"…Fine," Ruby said grudgingly. "But you're gonna keep in contact, right?"

"With you, I will."

The boat's honk echoed across the docks, and a voice started blaring safety instructions. Ruby looked around in distress.

"I'll call very soon, okay?" Yang bent over to kiss her on the forehead. "Stay safe. And don't get kidnapped again!"

"I'll try," Ruby smiled weakly, holding back tears. "Bye. And keep that promise!"

Ruby lingered for a moment, swaying on the balls of her feet. Then, she turned around and started walking away – and then she was back, petals floating around her, and holding Yang's arm.

"You could work with me!" she pleaded. "You're, like, the best superhero ever. Super Sisters, remember? We could go on missions together, fight back to back, we'd become legends!" she opened and closed her mouth, as if she wanted to say something but knew she'd better not. "Director Ozpin has this really important Initiative thing going, and I think you would be a great addition to-"

"Ruby," Yang laid a hand on her shoulder. "You don't need me, and you know it."

"But…" Ruby's cheeks reddened with irritation. "Did you just forget you rescued me from a bunch of lunatics _yesterday_?!"

"You escaped on your own. And _if_ you needed help at any point, Qrow was there," Yang said. "You don't need me."

"I do need you!" Ruby shouted, tears coming to her eyes. "I've always needed you!"

Yang closed her eyes. God, she was close, _so close_ to crumbling. If Ruby actually cried…

"Ruby. You don't need me, okay?" she managed to say, very quietly so she didn't betray how weak her conviction was. "Not anymore. You… you're my hero now – so start acting like it! Go kill some Grimm and stop bad guys from stealing from people," she drew in a shaky breath. "And I'll be somewhere else, trying to be as strong as you."

Ruby shuddered. For a moment, Yang thought this was it. Ruby was going to cry, and then _she_ was going to cry, and everything would be over. She would go back home, apologize to Dad and Qrow, and beg them to forgive her.

And then Ruby raised her chin and smiled.

"Alright. Let's talk soon, sis."

And she turned and walked away. She turned one last time to wave goodbye, and then Ruby was gone, leaving behind a trail of rose petals.

The crew drew up the ramp to the boat, and a minute later, they were leaving Patch, headed towards the greater Vale – towards whatever waited next.

Yang leaned on the rail, letting the breeze blow against her face. Strands of her hair whipped against her eyes, but she pushed them away. In doing so, she discovered a stray rose petal, caught amidst her golden locks.

She kissed it, then let it fall gently to the ocean's surface.

* * *

**RUBY AND YANG WILL REUNITE IN**

**THE HUNT**


	9. SIT BACK DOWN, FOOLS, THERE'S MORE TO SEE

Qrow let the door of the bar slam shut behind him. Cracking his neck, he headed to the bar and sat down in front of it. He looked around, but the place was deserted. He had arrived too late – or the rascals had figured someone was going to come and had beaten tail.

The red spots on the floor made him think the first was the more likely answer.

He leaned over the bar and searched under it blindly with his hand, until his fingers closed around a bottle. He retrieved it and, after reading the label, deemed it good enough for him. Although, he would accept anything at this point.

He took a glass and poured, then took a sip. It was weak, very weak. Maybe he ought to search for another bottle. But he didn't care enough. He poured again and again, emptying the glass in seconds each time, until there was little left in the bottle.

He leaned back to drink the last drops, and when he lowered his glass, a small black bird was perched on a seat on the other side of the counter, staring at him inquisitively with red eyes.

"Hah. Knew you were the one behind this," Qrow chortled. "You were watching the whole time, weren't you?"

The bird twisted its neck low and jumped around a little, before going still again.

"Sure. Let's play pretend. See if I care," Qrow rolled his eyes. "So, you dealt with Junior and his goons, did you? Was planning on doing that myself, figured he musta been working with the crazies. But you got to them first. Funny… that's not really your shtick."

He waved his hand about, inadvertently knocking over the bottle. It started rolling to the edge, but he caught it before it fell.

"Whatever. See if I care…" he mumbled, but then changed his mind. "I know why you're staying like that! You don't wanna talk to me, 'cause you're ashamed – 'cause you know you _screwed up_! We _all_ screwed up!"

"Now, don't start thinkin' that's me excusing you, because you were the worst!" he said furiously. "Taiyang just wanted the best for her. That was it. Maybe it wasn't right, but what else was he supposed to do? He coulda betrayed Oz, but… Hell, I haven't done that, and I'm a mess."

"And it woulda been fine had that been it, 'cause he loves that girl and she knows it. But I had to plant those ideas in her head and make her think she's – she's some freak just because that's what I think of myself so I can sleep at night," he grabbed the bottle and shattered it against the counter, then slouched defeatedly. "There's only so much bad luck can do…"

Qrow tossed away the remains of the bottle, then pointed a finger accusingly at the bird.

"But it's all on you! _Everything_ starts with _you_! If you weren't such a cow, if you didn't think so highly of yourself, if you hadn't abandoned her and _EVERYONE ELSE_ -"

He got up suddenly and grabbed his seat, lifted it above his head, and threw it on the floor, breaking it. He looked around, breathing hard, and pointed at the blood.

"And you think this can make up for it. It can't. Nothing ever will."

He looked at the bird, and, for the first time, it chirped. Qrow frowned, staring at it more intensely, then kicked the counter.

"Whatever. Your time's over," he muttered. "You're gonna be useless soon, mark my words."

The bird chirped again, then flew away, leaving by an open window at the back of the bar. Qrow shook his head feverishly and bent forward, searching for another bottle. When he found one, he didn't even take the time to identify what it was before opening it and raising it high.

"Here's to you, sis."


End file.
